Skip to main content

Full text of "Aubrey Beardsley"

See other formats 


Ir^N 


') 


University  of  California  •  Berkeley 

Gift  of 
THE  HEARST  CORPORATION 


Hearsf  Mof^crM  Ithrary 
^«No S^.^•»a.^'^^^ 

•'NOT  TO  BE  REMOVED  FROM  LifiPAaT  U 

WITI^UT  PROPER  AUTHORIT^'J^  ^ 

flOPfiwr  Of  HI  AM?  c«w. 


AUBREY  BEARDSLEY 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/aubreybeardsleyOOrossrich 


MRS.    PATRICK    CAMPBELL 
Now  in  the  Berlin  National  Gallery 


TURNBULL  AND  SPKARS,    PRINTERS,    EDINBURGH. 


TO 

Sir  COLERIDGE  ARTHUR  FITZROY  KENNARD, 

Bart. 


Illustrations 


Mrs  Patrick  Campbell       .  .  .  .     Frontispiece. 

JVoTV  in  the  Berlin  National  Gallery 

facing  page 
Siegfried   .         •         .  .         .  .         .         .  12 

Reproduced  from  the  original  in  the  possession  of  Mrs  Bealby  Wright 

The  Woman  in  the  Moon  .  .         .         .  14 

From  ''Salome" 

The  Toilette  of  Salome 18 

From  '  <  Salome  '* 

The  Dancer's  Reward       .....         20 

From  ' '  Salome  " 

Tailpiece   ........         22 

From  '  *  Salome  " 

Design  for  a  Frontispiece  ....  26 

From  *  •  Plays  "  61/  John  Davidson 

The  Wagnerites 28 


Atalanta 


32 


The  Mysterious  Rose  Garden  ....         36 

7 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


facing  page 
Illustration  for  "A  Nocturne  of  Chopin"      .         38 

Chopin,  Ballade  III.  Op.  47     ...  .  42 

Reproduced  by  permission  of  Charles  Holme ^  Esqre. 

The  Baron's  Prayer  .....         44 

From  "  The  Rape  of  the  Lock  " 

The  Battle  of  Beaux  and  Belles      ...  48 

From  < '  The  Rape  of  the  Lock  " 

A  Design  from  "  Lysistrata  "  .         .         .         .  50 

D' Albert  in  Search  of  Ideals  .  .  .  .  54 

From  "  Mademoiselle  de  Maupin, "      Reproduced  from  the  original 
in  the  possession  of  Mrs  Btalby  Wright 


AUBREY  BEARDSLEY 


AUBREY      BEARDSLEY 

34  UBREY  BEARDSLEY  was  born  on 
/  ^k  August  2ist,  1872,  at  Brighton. 
/  ^k  He  was  a  quiet,  reserved  child, 
^  J^  caring  little  for  lessons,  though 
from  an  early  age  he  shewed  an  aptitude  for 
drawing.  He  began  his  education  at  a  Kinder- 
garten. He  was  seven  years  old  when  the 
first  symptoms  of  delicacy  appeared,  and  he 
was  sent  to  a  preparatory  school  at  Hurst- 
pierpoint,  where  he  was  remarkable  for  his 
courage  and  extreme  reserve.  Threatened 
with  tuberculosis,  he  was  moved  for  his  health 
to  Epsom  in  1881.  In  March  1883  his  family 
settled  in  London,  and  Beardsley  made  his 
first  public  appearance  as  an  infant  musical 
phenomenon,  playing  at  concerts  in  company 
with  his  sister.  He  had  a  great  knowledge 
of  music,  and  always  spoke  dogmatically  on  a 
subject,  the  only  one  he  used  to  say,  of  which 
he  knew  anything.  He  became  attracted  at 
this  time  by  Miss   Kate   Greenaway's   picture 

II 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


books,  and  started  illuminating  menus  and  in- 
vitation cards  with  coloured  chalks,  making  by 
this  means  quite  considerable  sums  for  a  child. 

In  August  1884  he  and  his  sister  were  sent 
back  to  Brighton,  where  they  resided  with 
an  old  aunt.  Their  lives  were  lonely,  and 
Beardsley  developed  a  taste  for  reading  of  a 
rather  serious  kind — the  histories  of  Freeman 
and  Greene  being  his  favourite  works.  He 
could  not  remain  a  student  without  creating, 
so  he  started  a  history  of  the  Armada!  In 
November  of  the  same  year  he  was  sent  to 
the  Brighton  Grammar  School  as  a  day  boy, 
becoming  a  boarder  in  January  1885.  He 
was  a  great  favourite  with  Mr  King,  the  house- 
master, who  encouraged  his  tastes  for  reading 
and  drawing  by  giving  him  the  use  of  a  sitting- 
room  and  the  run  of  a  library.  This  was 
one  of  the  first  pieces  of  luck  that  attended 
Beardsley  throughout  life.  The  head-master, 
Mr  Marshall,  I  am  told,  would  hold  him  up  as 
an  example  to  the  other  boys,  on  account  of 
his  industry.  His  caricatures  of  the  masters 
were  fully  appreciated  by  them,  a  rare  occur- 
rence in  the  lives  of  artists.  He  cultivated 
besides  a  talent   for   acting,   and  would  often 

12 


SIEGFRIED 

Reproduced  frojit  the  originalin  the  possession  of  Mrs.  Bealby  Wright 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


perform  before  large  audiences  at  the  Pavilion. 
He  organized  weekly  performances  at  the 
school,  designing  and  illustrating  the  pro- 
grammes. He  even  wrote  a  farce  called  ''A 
Brown  Study,"  which  was  played  at  Brighton, 
where  it  received  serious  attention  from  the 
dramatic  critics  of  the  town.  He  would  pur- 
chase each  volume  of  the  Mermaid  series  of 
Elizabethan  dramatists  then  being  issued,  and 
with  his  sister  gave  performances  during  the 
holidays.  From  the  record  of  the  '^  Brighton 
College  Magazine,"  Beardsley  appears  to  have 
taken  a  leading  role  in  all  histrionic  fetes,  and 
to  ''The  Pied  Piper  of  Hamelin  "  he  contributed 
some  delightful  and  racy  little  sketches,  the 
first  of  his  drawings,  I  believe,  that  were  ever 
reproduced. 

In  July  1888  he  left  school,  and  almost 
immediately  entered  an  architect's  office  in 
London.  In  1889  he  obtained  a  post  in  the 
Guardian  Life  and  Fire  Insurance.  During 
the  autumn  of  that  year  the  fatal  haemorrhages 
commenced ;  for  two  years  he  gave  up  his 
amateur  theatricals  and  did  little  in  the  way  of 
drawing.  In  1891,  however,  he  recuperated; 
a  belief  in  his  own  powers  revived.     He  now 

13 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


commenced  a  whole  series  of  illustrations  to 
various  plays,  such  as  Marlowe's  "Tamerlane," 
Congreve's  "  Way  of  the  World,"  and  various 
French  works  which  he  was  able  to  enjoy  in 
the  original.  He  would  often  speak  of  the 
encouragement  and  kindness  he  received  at  this 
period  from  the  Rev.  Alfred  Gurney,  who  had 
known  his  family  at  Brighton,  and  who  was 
perhaps  the  earliest  of  his  friends  to  realize 
that  Beardsley  possessed  something  more  than 
mere  cleverness  or  precocity. 

Several  people  have  claimed  to  discover 
Aubrey  Beardsley,  but  I  think  it  truer  to  say 
that  he  revealed  himself,  when  proper  acknow- 
ledgment has  been  made  to  Mr  Aymer  Vallance, 
Mr  Joseph  Pennell,  Mr  Frederick  Evans,  Mr  J.  M. 
Dent,  and  Mr  John  Lane,  with  whom  Beardsley's 
art  will  always  be  associated '  in  connection  with 
the  Yellow  Book,  that  too  early  daffodil  that 
came  before  the  swallow  dared  and  could  not 
take  the  winds  of  March  for  beauty.  To 
Mr  Pennell  belongs  the  credit  of  introducing 
Beardsley's  art  to  the  public ;  and  to  Mr  Dent 
is  due  the  rare  distinction  of  giving  him  practical 
encouragement,  by  commissioning  the  illus- 
trations to  the  "  Morte  d' Arthur,"  long  before 

H 


THE   WOMAN    IN    THE   MOON 
From  "  Salovte  " 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


critics  had  written  anything  about  him,  or  any 
but  a  few  friends  knew  of  his  great  powers. 
Beardsley  was  too  remarkable  a  personality  to 
remain  in  obscurity.  Though  I  remember  with 
some  amusement  how  the  editor  of  a  well- 
known  weekly  mocked  at  a  prophecy  that  the 
artist  was  a  coming  man  who  would  very  shortly 
excite  discussion  if  not  admiration.  Fortunately 
Mr  Pennell,  a  distinguished  artist  himself,  and 
a  fearless  critic,  not  only  espoused  the  cause  of 
the  new  draughtsman,  but  became  a  personal 
friend  for  whom  Beardsley  always  evinced  great 
affection,  and  to  whom  he  dedicated  his  "  Album 
of  Fifty  Drawings." 

I  shall  never  forget  my  first  meeting  with 
Aubrey  Beardsley,  on  February  14th,  1892, 
at  the  rooms  of  Mr  Vallance,  the  well-known 
disciple  and  biographer  of  William  Morris. 
Though  prepared  for  an  extraordinary  person- 
ality, I  never  expected  the  youthful  apparition 
which  glided  into  the  room.  He  was  shy, 
nervous,  and  self-conscious,  without  any  of  the 
intellectual  assurance  and  ease  so  characteristic 
of  him  eighteen  months  later  when  his  success 
was  unquestioned.  He  brought  a  portfolio 
of  his  marvellous    drawings,  in  themselves   an 

^5 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


earnest  of  genius  ;  but  I  hardly  paid  any  attention 
to  them  at  first,  so  overshadowed  were  they  by 
the  strange  and  fascinating  originality  of  their 
author.  In  two  hours  it  was  not  hard  to  dis- 
cover that  Beardsley's  appearance  did  not  belie 
him.  He  was  an  intellectual  Marcellus  suddenly 
matured.  His  rather  long  brown  hair,  instead 
of  being  ^'ebouriffe,"  as  the  ordinary  genius 
is  expected  to  wear  it,  was  brushed  smoothly 
and  flatly  on  his  head  and  over  part  of  his 
immensely  high  and  narrow  brow.  His  face 
even  then  was  terribly  drawn  and  emaciated. 
Except  in  his  manner,  I  do  not  think  his 
general  appearance  altered  very  much  in  spite 
of  the  ill-health  and  suiFering,  borne  with  such 
unparalleled  resignation  and  fortitude:  he  al- 
ways had  a  most  delightful  and  engaging  smile 
both  for  friends  and  strangers.  He  grew  less 
shy  after  half  an  hour,  becoming  gayer  and 
more  talkative.  He  was  full  of  Moliere  and 
''Manon  Lescaut"  at  the  time;  he  seemed 
disappointed  that  none  of  us  was  musical;  but 
he  astonished  by  his  knowledge  of  Balzac  an 
authority  on  the  subject  who  was  also  present. 
He  spoke  much  of  the  National  Gallery  and 
the  British  Museum,  both  of  which  he  knew 

i6 


1 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


with  extraordinary  thoroughness.  He  told  me 
he  had  only  been  once  to  the  New  Gallery, 
where  he  saw  some  pictures  by  Burne-Jones,  but 
had  never  been  to  the  Royal  Academy.  As  far 
as  I  know,  he  never  visited  the  spring  shows 
of  Burlington  House.  He  always,  however, 
defended  that  institution  with  enthusiasm,  say- 
ing he  would  rather  be  an  Academician  than  an 
artist,  "  as  it  takes  only  one  man  to  make  an 
artist,  but  forty  to  make  an  Academician." 

Our  next  meeting  was  a  few  weeks  later, 
when  he  brought  me  a  replica  of  his  ^'^  Joan  of 
Arc.''  I  was  anxious  to  buy  the  first  and  better 
version,  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr  Frederick 
Evans,  but  he  refused  to  part  with  it  at  the 
time.  He  seemed  particularly  proud  of  the 
drawing  ;  it  was  the  only  work  of  this  period 
he  would  allow  to  have  any  merit. 

In  the  early  summer  of  1892  he  visited 
Burne-Jones  and  Watts,  receiving  from  the 
former  artist  cordial  recognition  and  excellent 
advice  which  proved  invaluable  to  him.  He 
attributed  to  the  same  great  painter  the  criticism 
that  "  he  had  learnt  too  much  from  the  old 
masters  and  would  benefit  by  the  training  of  an 
art  school."  A  few  days  afterwards  he  pro- 
B  17 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


duced  a  most  amusing  caricature  of  himself  being 
kicked  down  the  stairs  of  the  National  Gallery  by 
Raphael,  Titian,  and  Mantegna,  whilst  Michael 
Angelo  dealt  a  blow  on  his  head  with  a  hammer. 
This  entertaining  little  record,  I  am  sorry  to 
say,  was  destroyed.  Beardsley  was  always 
sensible  about  friendly  and  intelligent  criticism. 
When  he  reached  a  position  enjoyed  by  no 
artist  of  his  own  age,  he  was  swift  to  remedy 
any  defect  pointed  out  to  him  by  artists  or  even 
by  ordinary  friends.  I  never  met  anyone  so 
receptive  on  all  subjects  ;  he  would  record  what 
Mr  Pennell  or  Puvis  de  Chavannes  said  in 
praise  or  blame  of  a  particular  drawing  with 
equal  candour  and  good  humour.  This  was 
only  one  of  his  many  amiable  qualities.  When 
he  afterwards  became  a  sort  of  household  word 
and  his  fame,  or  notoriety  as  his  enemies  called 
it,  was  established,  he  never  changed  in  this 
respect.  He  made  friends  and  remained  friends 
with  many  for  whom  his  art  was  totally  un- 
intelligible. Social  charm  triumphed  over  all 
differences.  He  would  speak  with  enthusiasm 
about  writers  and  artists  quite  out  of  sympathy 
with  his  own  aims  and  aspirations.  He  never 
assumed   that    those   to   whom    he    was    intro- 

i8 


THE  TOILETTE  OF    SALOME 
From  "  Salome  " 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


books  and  critical  texts  of  the  English  classics 
with  Mr  Frederick  Evans,  an  early  and  en- 
thusiastic buyer  of  his  work.  His  tastes  were 
not  narrow.  Poetry,  memoirs,  history,  short 
stories,  biography,  and  essays  of  all  kinds 
appealed  to  him  ;  but  he  cared  little  for 
novels,  except  in  French.  I  don't  think  he 
ever  read  Dickens,  Thackeray,  and  George 
Eliot,  though  he  enjoyed  Scott  during  the 
last  months  of  his  life.  He  had  an  early 
predilection  for  lives  of  the  Saints.  The 
scrap-book  of  sketches,  containing  drawings 
done  prior  to  1892,  indicates  the  range  and 
extent  of  his  taste.  There  are  illustrations 
to  "Manon  Lescaut,"  "Tartarin,"  ''Madame 
Bovary,"  Balzac  (''Le  Cousin  Pons,"  the  ''Contes 
Drolatiques "),  Racine,  Shelley's  "  Cenci."  He 
retained  his  love  of  the  drama,  and  began  to 
write  a  play  in  collaboration  with  Mr  Brandon 
Thomas.  While  dominated  by  pre-Raphaelite  in- 
fluences, he  read  with  great  avidity  ''Sidonia  the 
Sorceress,"  and  ''The  Shaving  of  Shagpat,"  a 
favourite  book  of  Rossetti's;  and  it  was  with 
a  view  to  illustrate  Mr  Meredith's  Arabian 
Night  that  he  became  introduced  to  Mr  John 
Lane,  who  divides  with  Mr  Herbert  PoUit  the 

20 


THE    DANCEK  S    REWARD 
Front  "  Salotne  " 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


honour  of  possessing  the  finest  Beardsleys  still 
in  this  country.  He  read  Greek  and  Latin 
authors  in  translations,  and  often  astonished 
scholars  by  his  acute  appreciation  of  their 
matter.  He  approached  Dantesque  mediseval- 
ism  through  Rossetti  and,  later  on,  at  the  original 
source.  Much  of  his  early  work  illustrated 
incidents  in  the  "  Divine  Comedy."  He  was 
a  fervent  admirer  of  the  ''  Romance  of  the  Rose  " 
in  the  original,  and  several  mediaeval  French 
books,  but  he  once  told  me  that  he  found  the 
"  Morte  d'Arthur ''  very  long-winded. 

For  one  so  romantic  in  the  expression  of  his 
art,  I  should  say  his  literary  and  artistic  tastes 
were  severely  classic,  though  you  would  have 
expected  them  to  be  bizarre.  He  was  ambitious 
of  literary  success,  but  any  aspirations  were 
wisely  discouraged  by  his  admirers.  His  writings, 
however  brilliant — and  they  often  were  brilliant 
— shewed  a  dangerous  cleverness,  which  on  culti- 
vation might  have  proved  disastrous  to  the 
realization  of  his  true  genius.  "  Under  the 
Hill"  is  a  delightful  experiment  in  a  rococo 
style  of  literature,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to 
praise  sufficiently  the  rhythm  and  metrical  adroit- 
ness  of  the   two   poems  in  the  Savoy  Maga- 

21 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


zine.  Though  I  cannot  speak  of  his  musical 
attainments,  it  may  be  regarded  as  fortunate 
that  so  remarkable  a  genius  was  directed  to  a 
more  permanent  form  of  executive  power. 

His  knowledge  of  life,  art,  and  literature 
seemed  the  result  of  instinct  rather  than  study; 
for  no  one  has  ever  discovered  where  he  found 
the  time  or  opportunity  for  assimilating  all  he 
did.  Gregarious  and  sociable  by  nature,  he 
was  amusingly  secretive  about  his  methods  and 
times  of  work.  Like  other  industrious  men,  he 
never  pretended  to  be  busy  or  pressed  for  time. 
He  never  denied  his  door  to  callers,  nor  refused 
to  go  anywhere  on  the  plea  of  ''work." 

He  disliked  anyone  being  in  the  room  when 
he  was  drawing,  and  hastily  hid  all  his  materials 
if  a  stranger  entered  the  room.  He  would 
rarely  exhibit  an  unfinished  sketch,  and  care- 
fully destroyed  any  he  was  not  thoroughly 
satisfied  with  himself.  He  carried  this  sensitive 
spirit  of  selection  and  self-criticism  rather  far. 
Calling  on  friends  who  possessed  primitives,  he 
would  destroy  these  early  relics  and  leave  a 
more  mature  and  approved  specimen  of  his  art, 
or  the  edition  de  luxe  of  some  book  he  had 
illustrated.     Some  of  us  were  so  annoyed  that 

22 


TAILPIECE 
From  "  Salome 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


we  were  eventually  obliged  to  lock  up  all  early 
examples.  For  though  friends  thus  victimized 
were  endowed  with  a  more  valuable  acquisi- 
tion, they  had  a  natural  sentiment  and  affection 
for  the  unsophisticated  designs  of  his  earlier 
years. 

His  life,  though  many-sided  and  successful, 
was  outwardly  uneventful.  In  the  early  summer 
of  1892  he  entered  Professor  Brown's  night 
school  at  Westminster,  but  during  the  day  con- 
tinued his  work  at  the  Guardian  Fire  Insurance 
until  August,  when,  by  his  sister's  advice,  he 
resigned  his  post.  In  December  he  became 
acquainted  with  Mr  Pennell,  from  whose  en- 
couragement and  advice  he  reaped  the  fullest 
advantage.  After  commencing  the  decorations 
to  the  ''Morte  d' Arthur,"  he  ceased  to  attend 
Professor  Brown's  classes.  In  February  1893 
some  of  his  drawings  were  first  published  in 
London  in  the  Pall  Mall  Budget  under  the 
editorship  of  Mr  Lewis  Hind,  but  one  of  the 
most  striking  of  his  early  designs  appeared  in 
a  little  college  magazine  entitled  The  Bee. 
When  The  Studio  was  started  by  Mr  Charles 
Holme  under  the  able  direction  of  the  late 
Gleeson-White,    Beardsley    designed    the    first 

^3 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


cover   and    Mr   Pennell  contributed   the  well- 
known  appreciation  of  the  new  artist. 

Towards  the  end  of  1893  ^^  commenced 
working  for  Mr  John  Lane,  who  issued  his 
marvellous  illustrations  to  "Salome"  in  1894. 
In  April  of  the  same  year  appeared  the 
Yellow  Book.  To  the  first  four  volumes  Beardsley 
contributed  altogether  about  eighteen  illus- 
trations. From  a  pictorial  point  of  view  this 
publication  had  no  other  raison  d'etre  than 
as  a  vehicle  for  the  production  of  Beardsley's 
work,  though  Henry  Harland,  in  his  capacity 
as  literary  editor,  revealed  the  presence  of  many 
new  writers  among  us.  Throughout  1894 
Beardsley's  health  seemed  to  improve,  and  his 
social  success  was  considerable.  In  the  previous 
year  he  had  been  ridiculed,  but  now  the  world 
accepted  him  at  Mr  Pennell's  valuation.  The 
Beardsley  type  became  quite  a  fashion,  and  was 
burlesqued  at  many  of  the  theatres ;  his  name 
and  work  were  on  every  one's  lips.  He  made 
friends  with  many  of  his  contemporaries  dis- 
tinguished in  art  and  literature.  At  the  house 
of  one  of  his  friends  he  delivered  a  very  amus- 
ing lecture  on  "  Art "  which  created  much 
discussion. 

24 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


A  little  later  Beardsley  was  popularly  sup- 
posed to  have  given  pictorial  expression  to  the 
views  and  sentiments  of  a  certain  school,  and 
his  drawings  were  regarded  as  the  outward 
artistic  sign  of  inward  literary  corruption.  This 
is  not  the  place  to  discuss  the  invention  of  a 
mare's  nest.  He  suffered  considerably  by  this 
premature  attempt  to  classify  his  art.  Further 
efforts  to  ridicule  his  work  and  suppress  its 
publication  were,  however,  among  the  most 
cheering  failures  of  modern  journalism.  In 
1895  he  ceased  to  contribute  to  the  Yellow 
Book,  and  in  January  1896  The  Savoy  was 
started  by  Leonard  Smithers,  with  Mr  Arthur 
Symons  as  the  literary  editor,  who  became  the 
most  subtle  and  discerning  of  all  his  critics  after 
Beardsley's  death.  Failing  health  was  the  only 
difficulty  with  which  he  had  to  contend  in  the 
future.  From  March  1896,  when  he  caught  a 
severe  chill  at  Brussels,  he  became  a  permanent 
invalid.  He  returned  to  England  in  May,  and 
in  August  went  to  Bournemouth,  where  he 
spent  the  autumn  and  winter. 

Those  who  visited  him  at  Bournemouth  never 
expected  he  would  live  for  more  than  a  few 
weeks.     His    courage,    however,    never    failed 

^5 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


him,  and  he  continued  work  even  while  suffer- 
ing from  lung  haemorrhage ;  but  he  expressed 
a  hope  and  belief,  in  which  he  was  justified, 
that  he  might  be  spared  one  more  year.  On 
March  31st,  1897,  he  was  received  into  the 
Catholic  Church.  The  sincerity  of  his  re- 
ligious convictions  has  been  affirmed  by  those 
who  were  with  him  constantly ;  and,  as  I  have 
suggested  before,  the  flippancy  and  careless 
nature  of  his  conversation  were  superficial :  he 
was  always  strict  in  his  religious  observances. 
Among  his  intimate  friends  through  life  were 
clergymen  and  priests  who  have  paid  tribute  to 
the  reality  and  sincerity  of  his  belief 

A  week  after  being  received,  Beardsley 
rallied  again,  and  moved  to  Paris,  but  still 
required  the  attention  and  untiring  devotion  of 
his  mother,  to  whom  he  was  deeply  attached. 
He  never  returned  to  England  again.  From 
time  to  time  he  was  cheered  by  visits  from  Miss 
Mabel  Beardsley  (Mrs  Bealby  Wright),  who 
understood  her  brother  as  few  sisters  have  done. 
For  some  time  he  stayed  at  St  Germain,  and  in 
July  1897  he  went  to  Dieppe,  where  he  seemed 
almost  to  have  recovered.  It  was  only,  however, 
for  a  short   time,  and  in  the  end  of  1897   ^^ 

26 


FRONTISPIECE 
From  "  Plays  "  by  J-ohii  Davidson 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


was  hurried  to  Mentone.  He  never  left  his 
room  after  January  25th.  The  accounts  of  him 
which  reached  London  prepared  his  friends 
for  the  end.  Almost  one  of  his  last  letters 
was  to  Mr  Vincent  O'Sullivan,  the  poet,  con- 
gratulating him  on  his  Introduction  to  "Vol- 
pone,"  for  which  Beardsley  was  making  the 
illustrations.  Beardsley  had  a  considerable 
knowledge  and  appreciation  of  Ben  Jonson. 

On  March  23rd,  1898,  he  received  the  last 
sacraments;  and  on  the  25th,  with  perfect 
resignation,  in  the  presence  of  his  mother  and 
sister,  to  whom  he  had  confided  messages  of 
love  and  sympathy  to  his  many  friends,  Aubrey 
Beardsley  passed  away. 

"  Come  back  in  sleep,  for  in  the  life 
Where  thou  art  not 
We  find  none  like  thee.     Time  and  strife 
And  the  world's  lot 

Move  thee  no  more  :  but  love  at  least 

And  reverent  heart 
May  move  thee,  royal  and  released 

Soul,  as  thou  art." 

No  one  could  have  wished  him  to  hve  on  in 
pain  and  suffering.  I  think  the  only  great  trials 
of  his  life  were  the  periods  in  which  he  was 

27 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


unfitted  for  work.  His  remarkable  career  was 
not  darkened  by  any  struggle  for  recognition. 
Few  artists  have  been  so  fortunate  as  Aubrey 
Beardsley.  His  short  life  was  remarkably 
happy — at  all  events  during  the  six  years  he 
was  before  the  public.  Everything  he  did  met 
with  success — a  success  thoroughly  enjoyed  by 
him.  He  seemed  indifferent  to  the  idle  criticism 
and  violent  denunciation  with  which  much  of 
his  art  was  hailed.  I  never  heard  of  anyone  of 
importance  who  disliked  him  personally ;  on  the 
other  hand,  many  who  were  hostile  and  pre- 
judiced about  his  art  ceased  to  attack  him 
after  meeting  him.  This  must  have  been  due 
to  the  magnetism  and  charm  of  his  individuality, 
exercised  quite  unconsciously,  for  he  never 
tried  to  conciliate  people,  or  ''to  work  the 
oracle,"  but  rather  gloried  in  shocking  ''the 
enemy,"  a  boyish  failing  for  which  he  may  be 
forgiven. 

He  had  considerable  intellectual  vanity,  but 
it  never  relapsed  into  common  conceit.  He  was 
generous  in  recognizing  the  talent  and  genius 
of  others,  but  was  singularly  perverse  in  some 
of  his  utterances.  He  said  once  that  only  four 
of    his    contemporaries    interested    him.      He 

28 


1 

J .  _  ■ 

III— f,  ^.^  fl 

rs^       ^  ,  li^i^^ 

.     >     o                               ^> 

>"  .  ^^^ 

%0               ^^ 

;            ^   ■ 

I 

/ 
/ 

/  ' 
/ 

THE  WAGNERITES 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


bore  with  extraordinary  patience  the  asser- 
tions of  foolish  persons  who  calmly  asserted 
that  both  in  America  and  England  other  artists 
had  anticipated  the  peculiarities  of  his  style  and 
methods.  I  have  seen  the  works  of  these 
Lambert  Simnels  and  Perkin  Warbecks,  and 
they  proved,  one  and  all,  crows  in  peacocks' 
feathers.  Beardsley's  style,  nevertheless,  in- 
fluenced (unfortunately,  I  think)  many  excellent 
artists  both  younger  and  older  than  himself. 
In  France  his  work  was  accepted  without  ques- 
tion: he  was  always  gratified  by  the  cordiality 
which  greeted  him  in  a  country  where  he  was 
more  generally  understood  than  in  his  own. 
He  has  illustrious  precedents  in  Constable 
and  Bonnington.  Italy,  Austria,  and  Germany 
recognized  in  him  a  master  some  time  before 
his  death.  At  Berlin  his  picture  of  Mrs 
Patrick  Campbell^  the  actress,  is  now  in  a  place 
of  honour  in  the  Museum.  A  portrait  study  of 
himself  is  in  the  British  Museum  Print  Room  ; 
a  few  examples  are  at  South  Kensington ;  but 
all  his  important  work  is  in  private  collections ; 
much  of  it  is  in  America  and  Germany.  In 
England,  putting  aside  the  notoriety  and  sensa- 
tion   caused   by   his    posters    and    the  Yellow 

29 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


Book,  appreciation  of  his  work  has  been  con- 
fined rather  to  the  few.  He  enjoyed,  however, 
the  friendship  and  intimacy  of  great  numbers  of 
people,  shewing  that  his  amiable  quahties,  no 
less  than  his  art,  received  due  recognition.  His 
conversation  was  vehement  and  witty  rather 
than  humorous.  He  had  a  remarkable  talent 
for  mimicking,  very  rarely  exercised.  He  loved 
argument,  and  supported  theories  for  the  sake 
of  argument  in  the  most  convincing  manner, 
leaving  strangers  with  a  totally  wrong  im- 
pression about  himself,  a  deception  to  which 
he  was  much  addicted.  He  possessed  what  is 
called  an  artificial  manner,  cultivated  to  an 
extent  that  might  be  mistaken  for  affectation. 
He  never  could  sit  still  for  very  long,  and  he 
made  use  of  gesture  for  emphasis.  His  peculiar 
gait  has  been  very  happily  rendered  in  a  portrait 
of  him  by  Mr  Walter  Sickert;  he  also  sat  to 
M.  Blanche,  the  well-known  French  portrait 
painter ;  the  portrait  by  himself  is  tinged  with 
caricature. 

To  estimate  the  art  of  Aubrey  Beardsley  is 
not  diflicult.  That  his  drawings  must  excite 
discussion  at  all  times  is  only  a  proof  of  their 

30 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


lasting  worth.  They  can  never  be  dismissed 
with  unkindly  comment,  nor  shelved  into  the 
limbo  of  art  criticism  which  waits  for  many 
blameless  and  depressing  productions  of  the 
eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries.  Among 
artists  and  men  of  letters  no  less  than  with  that 
great  inartistic  body,  ''the  art-loving  public," 
Aubrey  Beardsley's  name  will  always  call  forth 
wonder,  admiration,  speculation,  and  contempt. 
It  should  be  conceded,  however,  that  his  work 
cannot  appeal  to  everyone ;  and  that  many  who 
have  the  highest  perception  of  the  beautiful  see 
only  the  repulsive  and  unwholesome  in  the 
troubled,  exotic  expression  of  his  genius. 
Fortunately,  no  reputation  in  art  or  letters 
rests  on  the  verdict  of  majorities — it  is  the 
opinion  of  the  few  which  finally  triumphs. 
Artists  and  critics  have  already  dwelt  on 
the  beauty  of  Aubrey  Beardsley's  line,  which 
in  his  early  work  too  often  resolved  itself 
into  mere  caligraphy;  but  the  mature  and 
perfect  illustrations  to  "Salome"  and  "The 
Rape  of  the  Lock"  evince  a  mastery  unsur- 
passed by  any  artist  in  any  age  or  country. 
No  one  ever  carried  a  simple  line  to  its  in- 
evitable  end  with   such   sureness  and  firmness 

31 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


of  purpose.  And  this  is  one  of  the  lessons 
which  even  an  accomplished  draughtsman  may- 
learn  from  his  drawings,  in  any  age  when 
scraggy  execution  masquerades  under  impres- 
sionism. Aubrey  Beardsley  did  not  shirk  a 
difficulty  by  leaving  lines  to  the  imagination 
of  critics,  who  might  enlarge  on  the  reticence 
of  his  medium.  Art  cant  and  studio  jargon  do 
not  explain  his  work.  It  is  really  only  the 
presence  or  absence  of  beauty  in  his  drawing, 
and  his  wonderful  powers  of  technique  which 
need  trouble  his  admirers  or  detractors.  Nor 
are  we  confronted  with  any  conjecture  as  to 
what  Aubrey  Beardsley  might  have  done — he 
has  left  a  series  of  achievements.  While  his 
early  death  caused  deep  sorrow  among  his  per- 
sonal friends,  there  need  be  no  sorrow  for  an 
''  inheritor  of  unfulfilled  renown."  Old  age  is 
no  more  a  necessary  complement  to  the  realiza- 
tion of  genius  than  premature  death.  Within 
six  years,  after  passing  through  all  the  imitative 
stages  of  probation,  he  produced  masterpieces 
he  might  have  repeated  but  never  surpassed. 
His  style  would  have  changed.  He  was  too 
receptive  and  too  restless  to  acquiesce  in  a 
single  convention. 

32 


ATALANTA 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


This  is  hardly  the  place  to  dwell  on  the  great 
strides  which  black  and  white  art  made  in  the 
nineteenth  century.     It  has  been  called  the  most 
modern  of  the  arts ;  for  the  most  finished  drawings 
of  the  old  masters  were  done  with  a  view  to 
serve  as  studies  or  designs  to  be  transferred  to 
canvas,  metal,  and  wood,  not  for  frames   at  an 
expensive  dealer's.     Vittore  Pisano  and  Gentile 
Bellini  would  hardly  have  dared  to  mount  their 
delightful    studies  and  oiFer  them  as   pictures 
to  the  critics  and  patrons  of  their  day.     At  all 
events  it  were  safer  to  say,  that  appreciation  of 
a  drawing  for  itself,  without  relation  to  the  book 
or  page  it  was  intended  to  adorn  or  destroy,  is 
comparatively  modern.     It  is  necessary  to  keep 
this  in  mind,  because  the  suitability  of  Beardsley's 
work  to  the  books  he   embellished  was  often 
accidental.     His  designs  must  be  judged  inde- 
pendently, as  they  were  conceived,  without  any 
view   of    interpreting    or    even    illustrating    a 
particular  author.      He  was  too    subjective  to 
be  a  mere  illustrator.     Profoundly  interested  in 
literature  for  the  purposes  of  his  art,  he  only 
extracted  from  it  whatever  was  suggestive  as 
pattern ;  he  never  professed  to  interpret  for  dull 
people,  unable   to  understand  what  they  read, 
c  23 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


any  more  than  the  mediaeval  illuminator  and 
carver  of  grotesques  attempted  to  explain  the 
mysteries  of  the  Christian  faith  on  the  borders 
of  missals  and  breviaries  or  the  miserere  seats  of 
the  choir.  His  art  was,  of  course,  intensely 
literary,  to  use  the  word  hated  of  modern 
critics,  but  his  expression  of  it  was  the  legitimate 
literature  of  the  artist,  not  the  art  peculiar  to 
literature.  He  did  not  attempt,  or  certainly 
never  succeeded  in  giving,  pictorial  revision  to  a 
work  of  literature  in  the  sense  that  Blake  has 
done  for  the  book  of  Job,  and  Botticelli  for  the 
^'Divine  Comedy."  While  hardly  satisfying 
those  for  whom  any  work  of  art  guilty  of 
^^ subject"  becomes  worthless,  this  immunity 
from  the  conventions  of  the  illustrator  will 
secure  for  Beardsley  a  larger  share  of  esteem 
among  artists  pure  and  simple  than  has  ever 
fallen  to  William  Blake,  who  appeals  more  to 
men  of  letters  than  to  the  artist  or  virtuoso. 
The  uncritical  profess  to  find  many  terrible 
meanings  in  Aubrey  Beardsley's  drawings ;  and 
he  will  probably  never  be  freed  from  the  charge 
of  symbolism.  However  morbid  the  sentiment 
in  some  of  his  work,  and  often  there  was  a 
macabre^  an  unholy  insistence  on  the  less  beauti- 

34 


i 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


I 


fill  side  of  human  things,  the  cabala  of  the 
symbolists  was  a  sealed  book  to  him.  Such 
things  were  entirely  foreign  to  his  lucid  and 
vigorous  intelligence.  There  is  hardly  a  draw- 
ing of  his  that  does  not  explain  itself;  the 
commentator  will  search  in  vain  for  any 
hieroglyphic  or  symbolic  intention.  The  hieratic 
archaism  of  his  early  work  misled  many  people, 
for  whom  pre-Raphaelitism  means  presupposition. 
Of  mysticism,  that  stumbling-block,  he  had  none 
at  all.  '^  The  Initiation  of  a  Neophyte  into  the 
Black  Art''  would  seem  to  contradict  such  a 
statement.  The  fantasy  and  grotesqueness  of 
that  lurid  and  haunting  composition  have  noth- 
ing in  common  with  the  symbolism  of  black 
magic,  the  ritual  of  freemasonry,  or  all  the 
fascinating  magic  to  be  found  in  the  works  of 
Eliphaz  Levi.  The  sumptuous  accessories  in 
which  he  revelled  had  no  other  than  a  decora- 
tive intention,  giving  sometimes  balance  to  a 
drawing,  or  conveying  a  literary  suggestion 
necessary  for  its  interpretation. 

Artists  are  blamed  for  what  they  have  not 
tried  to  do ;  or  for  the  absence  of  qualities 
distinguishing  the  work  of  an  entirely  different 
order  of  intellect ;  for  their  indifference  to  the 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


observations  of  others.  As  who  should  ask 
from  Reynolds  a  faithful  reproduction  of  textile 
fabrics ;  and  from  Carlo  Crivelli  the  natural 
phenomena  of  nature  we  expect  from  Turner 
and  Constable  ?  For  nature  as  it  should  be,  in 
the  works  of  Corot  and  Turner ;  for  nature 
made  easy,  in  modern  English  landscape;  for 
nature  without  tears,  in  the  impressionist  fashion, 
or  as  popularly  viewed  through  the  camera, 
Aubrey  Beardsley  had  no  feeling.  He  was 
frankly  indiiferent  to  picturesque  peasants,  the 
beauties  of  '' lovely  spots,"  either  in  England  or 
France.  A  devout  Catholic,  the  ringing  of  the 
Angelus  did  not  lure  him  to  present  fields  of 
mangel-wurzels  in  an  evening  haze.  The 
treatment  of  nature  in  the  larger  and  truer  sense 
of  the  word  had  little  attraction  for  him;  he 
never  tried,  therefore,  to  represent  air,  atmo- 
sphere, and  light,  as  many  clever  modern  artists 
have  done  in  black  and  white  !  Though  Claude, 
that  master  of  light  and  shadow,  was  a  landscape 
painter  who  really  interested  him.  Beardsley's 
landscape,  therefore,  is  formal,  primitive,  con- 
ventional; a  breath  of  air  hardly  shakes  the 
delicate  leaves  of  the  straight  poplars  and 
willows   that  grow  by  his   serpentine  streams. 

36 


THE   MYSTERIOUS    ROSE   GARDEN 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


The  great  cliiFs,  leaning  down  in  promontories 
to  the  sea,  have  that  unreal,  architectural 
appearance  so  remarkable  in  the  West  of  Corn- 
wall, a  place  he  had  never  visited.  Yet  his 
love  and  observation  of  flowers,  trees,  and 
gardens  are  very  striking  in  the  drawings 
for  the  "Morte  d'Arthur"  and  the  Savoy 
Magazine,  but  it  is  the  nature  of  the  landscape 
gardener,  not  the  landscape  painter.  There  is 
some  truth  in  the  half-playful,  half-unfriendly 
criticism,  that  his  pictures  were  a  form  of 
romantic  map-making.  Future  experts,  how- 
ever, may  be  trusted  to  deal  with  absence  of 
chiaroscuro,  values,  tones,  and  the  rest.  In 
only  one  of  his  drawings,  conceived,  curiously 
enough,  in  the  manner  of  Burne-Jones  (an 
unlikely  model),  is  there  anything  approaching 
what  is  usually  termed  atmosphere.  Eliminating, 
therefore,  all  that  must  not  be  expected  from 
his  art — mere  illustration,  realism,  symbolism 
and  naturalism — in  what,  may  be  asked,  does 
his  supreme  achievement  consist  ?  He  has 
decorated  white  sheets  of  paper  as  they  have 
never  been  decorated  before;  whether  hung 
on  the  wall,  reproduced  in  a  book,  or  concealed 
in  a  museum,   they   remain   among   the   most 

Z1 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


precious  and  exquisite  works  in  the  art  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  resembling  the  designs  of 
William  Blake  only — in  that  they  must  be 
hated,  misunderstood,  and  neglected,  ere  they 
are  recognized  as  works  of  a  master.  With 
more  simple  materials  than  those  employed  by 
the  fathers  of  black  and  white  art,  Beardsley 
has  left  memorials  no  less  wonderful  than  those 
of  the  Greek  vase-painters,  so  highly  prized  by 
artists  and  archaeologists  alike,  but  no  less 
difficult  for  the  uninitiated  to  appreciate  and 
understand. 

The  astonishing  fertility  of  his  invention,  and 
the  amount  of  work  he  managed  to  produce, 
were  inconceivable ;  yet  there  is  never  any  sign 
of  hurry ;  there  is  no  scamping  in  his  deft  and 
tidy  drawing.  The  neatness  of  his  most  ela- 
borate designs  would  suggest  many  sketches 
worked  over  and  discarded  before  deciding  on 
the  final  form  and  composition.  Strange  to  say, 
this  was  not  his  method.  He  sketched  every- 
thing in  pencil,  at  first  covering  the  paper  with 
apparent  scrawls,  constantly  rubbed  out  and 
blocked  in  again,  until  the  whole  surface 
became  raddled  from  pencil,  indiarubber,  and 
knife ;  over  this  incoherent  surface  he  worked 

38 


FRONTISPIECE 

From  "  A  Nocturne  of  Chopin 


\ 


i 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


in  Chinese  ink  with  a  gold  pen,  often  ignoring 
the  pencil  lines,  afterwards  carefully  removed. 
So  every  drawing  was  invented,  built  up,  and 
completed  on  the  same  sheet  of  paper.  And 
the  same  process  was  repeated  even  when  he 
produced  replicas.  At  first  he  was  indifferent 
to  process  reproduction,  but,  owing  to  Mr 
Pennell's  influence,  he  later  on  always  worked 
with  that  end  in  view ;  thereby  losing,  some 
will  think,  his  independence.  But  he  had 
nothing  to  complain  of — Mr  PennelPs  conten- 
tion about  process  was  never  so  well  proved  as 
in  Beardsley's  case.  His  experiments  in  colour 
were  not  always  successful,  two  of  his  most 
delightful  designs  he  ruined  by  tinting.  In 
the  posters  and  Studio  lithograph,  how- 
ever, the  crude  colour  is  highly  effective,  and 
'^ Mademoiselle  de  Maupin'"  shewed  he  might 
have  mastered  water-colour  had  he  chosen  to 
do  so.  There  are  at  present  in  the  market 
many  coloured  forgeries  of  his  work  :  these 
have  been  contrived  by  tracing  or  copying  the 
reproductions ;  the  colour  is  often  used  to  con- 
ceal the  paucity  of  the  drawing  and  hesitancy 
of  line ;  they  are  nearly  always  versions  of 
well-known  designs,  and  profess  to  be  replicas. 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


When  there  is  any  doubt  the  history  and 
provenance  of  the  work  should  be  carefully 
studied.  It  is  not  difficult  to  trace  the  pedigree 
of  any  genuine  example. 

A  good  deal  has  been  made  out  of  Beardsley's 
love  of  dark  rooms  and  lamp  light,  but  this  has 
been  grossly  exaggerated.  He  had  no  great 
faith  in  north  lights  and  studio  paraphernalia, 
so  necessary  for  those  who  use  mediums  other 
than  his  own.  He  would  sometimes  draw  on  a 
perfectly  flat  table,  facing  the  light,  which 
would  fall  directly  on  the  paper,  the  blind 
slightly  lowered. 

The  sources  of  Beardsley's  inspiration  have 
led  critics  into  grievous  errors.  He  was  accused 
of  imitating  artists,  some  of  whose  work  he  had 
never  seen,  and  of  whose  names  he  was  ignorant 
at  the  time  the  alleged  plagiarism  was  per- 
petrated—Felicien  Rops  may  be  mentioned 
as  an  instance.  Beardsley  contrived  a  style 
long  before  he  came  across  any  modern  French 
illustration.  He  was  innocent  of  either  Salon, 
the  Rosicrucians,  and  the  Royal  Academy  alike ; 
but  his  own  influence  on  the  Continent  is  said 
to  be  considerable.  That  he  borrowed  freely 
and  from  every  imaginable  master,  old  and  new, 

40 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


is,  of  course,  obvious.  Eclectic  is  certainly- 
applicable  to  him.  But  what  he  took  he  en- 
dowed with  a  fantastic  and  fascinating  originality; 
to  some  image  or  accessory,  familiar  to  anyone 
who  has  studied  the  old  masters,  he  added  the 
touch  of  modernity  which  brings  them  nearer  to 
us,  and  reached  refinements  never  thought  of 
by  the  old  masters.  Imagination  is  the  great 
pirate  of  art,  and  with  Beardsley  becomes  a 
pretext  for  invention. 

Prior  to  1891  his  drawings  are  interesting 
only  for  their  precocity ;  they  may  be  regarded, 
as  one  of  his  friends  has  said,  more  as  a  presage 
than  a  precedent.  You  marvel,  on  realizing  the 
short  interval  which  elapsed  between  their  pro- 
duction and  the  masterpieces  of  his  maturity. 
His  first  enthusiasm  was  for  the  work  of  the 
Italian  primitives,  as  Mr  Charles  Whibley 
says,  distinguished  "for  its  free  and  flow- 
ing line."  Even  at  a  later  time,  when  he 
devoted  himself  to  eighteenth  century  models 
and  ideals,  his  love  of  Andrea  Mantegna  never 
deserted  him.  He  always  kept  reproductions 
from  Mantegna  at  his  side,  and  declared  that  he 
never  ceased  to  learn  secrets  from  them.  In 
the  ^'Litany  of  Mary  Magdalen''^  and  the  two 

41 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


versions  of  ^^  Joan  of  Arc'''  this  influence  is  very- 
marked.  A  Botticelli  phase  followed,  and 
though  afterwards  discarded,  was  reverted  to 
at  a  later  period.  The  British  Museum  and  the 
National  Gallery  were  at  first  his  only  schools 
of  art.  As  a  matter  of  course,  Rossetti  and 
Burne-Jones,  but  chiefly  through  photographs 
and  prints,  succeeded  in  their  turn;  the  in- 
fluence of  Burne-Jones  lasting  longer  than  any 
other. 

Fairly  drugged  with  too  much  observation  of 
old  and  modern  masters,  he  entered  Professor 
Brown's  art  school,  where  he  successfully 
got  rid  of  much  that  was  superfluous.  The 
three  months'  training  had  the  most  salutary 
effect.  He  now  took  the  advice  attributed 
to  Burne  -  Jones,  and  unlearned  much  of 
his  acquired  pedantry.  The  mere  penman- 
ship which  disfigured  some  of  his  early  work 
entirely  disappeared.  His  handling  became 
finer,  his  drawing  less  timid.  The  sketch  of 
Moliere^  it  may  be  interesting  to  note,  belongs 
to  this  period  of  his  art. 

A  few  months  afterwards,  he  commenced  the 
'^  Morte  d'Arthur."  Suggested  and  intended  to 
rival  the  volumes  of  the  Kelmscott  Press,  it  is 

42 


.^ 


Chopia.  BaI]a3elE;0^4:( 


Rep7-odnced  by  fcnnissioit  of  Charles  Holme,  F.sqre. 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


his  most  popular  and  least  satisfactory  per- 
formance. Still  the  borders  have  far  more 
variety  and  invention  than  those  of  Morris; 
the  intricate  splendours  of  mediaeval  manu- 
scripts are  intelligently  imitated  or  adapted. 
The  initial-  and  tail-pieces  are  delightful  in 
themselves,  and  among  the  most  exquisite  of 
his  grotesques  and  embellishments.  But  the 
popularity  of  the  book  was  due  to  its  lack  of 
originality,  not  to  its  individuahty.  Mediasvalism 
for  the  middle  classes  always  ensures  an  ap- 
preciative audience.  Oddly  enough,  Morris 
was  said  to  be  annoyed  by  the  sincerest  form 
of  flattery.  Perhaps  he  felt  that  every  school 
of  art  comes  to  an  end  with  the  birth  of  the 
founder,  and  that  Beardsley  was  only  exercising 
himself  in  an  alien  field  of  which  Morris  himself 
owned  the  tithe.  At  all  events  it  is  not  unlikely 
that  Beardsley  aroused  in  the  great  poet  and 
decorator  the  same  suspicion  that  he  had 
undoubtedly  done  in  Watts. 

The  ''Morte  d' Arthur "  may  be  said,  for 
convenience,  to  close  Aubrey  Beardsley's  first 
period ;  but  he  modified  his  style  during  the 
progress  of  the  publication,  and  there  is  no 
unity  of  intention  in  his  types  or  scheme  of 

43 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


decoration.  He  was  gravitating  Japanwards. 
He  began,  however,  his  so-called  Japanesques 
long  before  seeing  any  real  Japanese  art,  except 
what  may  be  found  in  the  London  shop  windows 
on  cheap  trays  or  biscuit-boxes.  He  never 
thought  seriously  of  borrowing  from  this  source 
until  some  one  not  conversant  with  Oriental 
art  insisted  on  the  resemblance  of  his  draw- 
ings to  Kakemonos.  It  was  quite  accidental. 
Beardsley  was  really  studying  with  great  care 
and  attention  the  Crivellis  in  the  National 
Gallery ;  their  superficial  resemblance  to 
Japanese  work  occasioned  an  error  from  which 
Beardsley,  quick  to  assimilate  ideas  and  modes 
of  expression,  took  a  suggestion,  unconsciously 
and  ignorantly  offered,  and  studied  genuine 
examples.  "  Raphael  Sanzio "  (first  version) 
was  produced  prior  to  this  incident,  and 
"  Madame  Cigale^s  Birthday  Party "  immedi- 
ately afterwards.  His  emulation  of  the  Japanese 
never  left  him  until  the  production  of  the 
Savoy  Magazine.  In  my  view  this  was  the  only 
bad  artistic  influence  which  ever  threatened 
to  endanger  his  originality,  or  permanently 
vitiate  his  manner.  The  free  use  of  Chinese 
ink,  together  with  his  intellectual  vitality,  saved 

44 


THE    BARON  S   PRAYER 
From  "  The  Rape  of  the  Lock  " 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


him  from  ''  succumbing   to  Japan,"  to  use  Mr 
PennelPs  excellent  phrase. 

A  series  of  grotesques  to  decorate  some 
rather  silly  anthologies  produced  in  the  same 
year  as  the  "  Morte  d'Arthur"are  marvels  of 
ingenuity,  and  far  more  characteristic.  With 
them  he  began  a  new  period,  throwing  over  the 
deliberate  archaism  and  mediaevalism,  of  which 
he  began  to  tire.  In  the  illustrations  to 
"Salome,"  he  reached  the  consummation  of 
the  new  convention  he  created  for  himself; 
they  are,  collectively,  his  masterpiece.  In  the 
whole  range  of  art  there  is  nothing  like  them. 
You  can  trace  the  origin  of  their  development, 
but  you  cannot  find  anything  wherewith  to 
compare  them;  they  are  absolutely  unique. 
Before  commencing  "  Salome "  two  events 
contributed  to  give  Beardsley  a  fresh  impetus 
and  stimulate  his  method  of  expression :  a  series 
of  visits  to  the  collection  of  Greek  vases  in  the 
British  Museum  (prompted  by  an  essay  of  Mr 
D.  S.  McColl),  and  to  the  famous  Peacock 
Room  of  Mr  Whistler,  in  Prince's  Gate — one 
the  antithesis  of  Japan,  the  other  of  Burne- 
Jones.  Impressionable  at  all  times  to  novel 
sensations,  his  artistic  perceptions  vibrated  with 

45 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


a  new  and  inspired  enthusiasm.  Critical  apprecia- 
tion under  his  pen  meant  creation.  From  the 
Greek  vase  painting  he  learned  that  drapery  can  be 
represented  eiFectually  with  a  few  lines,  disposed 
with  economy,  not  by  a  number  of  unfinished 
scratches  and  superfluous  shading.  If  the 
^'Salome"  drawings  have  any  fault  at  all,  it  is 
that  the  texture  of  the  pictures  suggests  some 
other  medium  than  pen  and  ink,  as  Mr  Walter 
Crane  has  pointed  out  in  his  other  work.  They 
are  wrought  rather  than  drawn,  and  might  be 
designs  for  the  panel  of  a  cabinet,  for  Limoges 
or  Oriental  enamel.  "  The  Rape  of  the  Lock  " 
is,  therefore,  a  more  obvious  example  of  black 
and  white  art.  Beardsley's  second  period  lasted 
until  the  fourth  volume  of  the  Yellow  Book, 
in  which  the  ^' fVagnerites''  should  be  mentioned 
as  one  of  the  finest.  In  1896  Beardsley,  many 
people  think  to  the  detriment  of  his  style,  turned 
his  attention  to  the  eighteenth  century,  in  the 
literature  of  which  he  was  always  deeply  in- 
terested. Eisen,  Moreau,  Watteau,  Cochin, 
Pietro  Longhi,  now  became  his  masters.  The 
alien  romantic  art  of  Wagner  often  supplied  the 
theme  and  subject.  The  level  of  excellence 
sustained     throughout     the    Savoy     Magazine 

46 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


is  extraordinary,  in  view  of  the  terrible  state 
of  his  health.  His  unexampled  precision  of 
line  hardly  ever  falters;  and  while  his  compo- 
sition gains  in  simplicity,  his  capacity  for  detail 
has  not  flagged.  It  is,  perhaps,  an  accident 
that  in  his  most  pathetic  drawing,  ''  The  Death 
of  Pierrot^''  his  hand  seems  momentarily  to  have 
lost  its  cunning.  The  same  year  he  gave  us 
''The  Rape  of  the  Lock,"  regarded  by  some 
artists  as  the  testament  of  his  genius ;  and  an 
even  more  astonishing  set  of  drawings  to  the 
"Lysistrata"  of  Aristophanes.  These  are  grander 
than  the  "Rape  of  the  Lock,"  and  larger  in 
treatment  than  anything  he  ever  attempted. 
Privately  issued,  Beardsley  was  able  to  give  full 
rein  to  a  Rabelaisian  fantasy,  which  he  some- 
times cultivated  with  too  great  persistence. 
Irritated  by  what  he  considered  as  over-niceness 
in  some  of  his  critics,  he  seemed  determined  to 
frighten  his  public.  There  is  nothing  unwhole- 
some or  suggestive  about  the  "  Lysistrata " 
designs :  they  are  as  frank,  free,  and  outspoken 
as  the  text.  For  the  countrymen  of  Chaucer 
to  simulate  indignation  about  them  can  only  be 
explained  "  because  things  seen  are  greater  than 
things  heard."    Yet,  when  an  artist  frankly  deals 

47 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


with  forbidden  subjects,  the  old  canons  regular 
of  English  art  begin  to  thunder,  the  critics  for- 
get their  French  accent ;  the  old  Robert  Adam, 
which  is  in  all  of  us,  asserts  himself ;  we  fly  for 
the  fig-leaves.  A  real  artist,  Beardsley  has  not 
burdened  himself  with  chronology  or  archaeo- 
logy. Conceived  somewhat  in  the  spirit  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  the  period  of  graceful  in- 
decency, there  is  here,  however,  an  Olympian 
air,  a  statuesque  beauty,  only  comparable  to  the 
antique  vases.  The  illusion  is  enhanced  by  the 
absence  of  all  background,  and  this  gives  an 
added  touch  of  severity  to  the  compositions. 

Throughout  1896  the  general  tendency 
of  his  style  remains  uniform,  though  without 
sameness.  He  adapted  his  technique  to  the 
requirements  of  his  subject.  Mindful  of  the 
essential,  rejecting  the  needless,  he  always 
realized  his  genius  and  its  limitations.  From 
the  infinite  variety  of  the  Savoy  Magazine  it  is 
difficult  to  choose  any  of  particular  import- 
ance :  for  his  elaborate  manner,  the  first  plate 
to  ^' Under  the  HilP^ ;  and  in  a  simpler  style, 
the  fascinating  illustration  to  his  own  poem, 
''The  Barber'';  ''Ave  Atque  Vale''  and  "The 
Death  of  Pierrot"  have,  besides,  a  human  interest 

48 


THE   BATTLE  OF   BEAUX   AND    BELLES 
Frotn  "  The  Rape  of  the  Lock  " 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


over  and  above  any  artistic  quality  they  possess. 
For  the  "  Volpone "  drav^ings  Beardsley  again 
developed  his  style,  and  seeking  for  new  effects, 
reverted  to  pure  pencil  work.  The  ornate, 
delicate  initial  letters,  all  he  lived  to  finish, 
must  be  seen  in  the  originals  before  their 
sumptuous  qualities,  their  solemn  melancholy 
dignity,  their  dexterous  handling,  can  be  ap- 
preciated. The  use  of  a  camel's-hair  brush  for 
the  illustrations  to  "  Mademoiselle  de  Maupin^'^ 
one  of  his  last  works,  should  be  noted,  as  he  so 
rarely  used  one.  Beardsley's  invention  never 
failed  him,  so  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  take 
a  single  drawing,  or  set  of  drawings,  as  typical 
of  his  art.  Each  design  is  rather  a  type  of  his 
own  intellectual  mood. 

If  the  history  of  grotesque  remains  to  be 
written,  it  is  already  illustrated  by  his  art.  A 
subject  little  understood,  it  belongs  to  the  dim 
ways  of  criticism.  There  is  no  canon  or  school, 
and  the  artist  is  allowed  to  be  wilful,  untram- 
melled by  rule  or  precedent.  True  grotesque 
is  not  the  art  either  of  primitives  or  decadents, 
but  that  of  skilled  and  accomplished  workmen 
who  have  reached  the  zenith  of  a  peculiar  con- 
vention, how^ever  confined  and  limited  that  con- 
D  49 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


vention  may  be.  Byzantine  art,  one  of  our 
links  with  the  East,  should  some  day  furnish 
us  with  a  key  to  a  mystery  which  is  now  obscured 
by  symbolists  and  students  of  serpent  worship. 
The  Greeks,  with  their  supreme  sanity  and  un- 
rivalled plastic  sense,  afford  us  no  real  examples, 
though  their  archaic  art  is  often  pressed  into 
the  category.  Beardsley,  who  received  recog- 
nition for  this  side  of  his  genius,  emphasized 
the  grotesque  to  an  extent  that  precluded  any 
popularity  among  people  who  care  only  for  the 
trivial  and  "pretty."  In  him  it  was  allied  to  a 
mordant  humour,  a  certain  fescennine  abstraction 
which  sometimes  offends  :  this,  however,  does 
not  excuse  the  use  of  the  word  '^eccentric," 
more  misapplied  than  any  word  in  the  English 
language,  except  perhaps  "grotesque "  and 
"picturesque."  All  great  art  is  eccentric  to 
the  conservative  multitude.  The  decoration  on 
the  Parthenon  was  so  eccentric  that  Pheidias 
was  put  in  prison.  The  works  of  Whistler 
and  Burne-Jones,  once  derided  as  eccentric,  are 
now  accepted  as  the  commencement  of  great 
traditions.  All  future  art  will  be  dubbed 
eccentric,  trampled  on,  and  despised;  even  as 
the  first  tulip  that  blossomed  in  England  was 

50 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


k 


rooted  out  and  burnt  for  a  worthless  weed  by 
the  conscientious  Scotch  gardener. 

To  compare  Beardsley  with  any  of  his  con- 
temporaries would  be  unjust  to  them  and  to 
him.  He  belonged  to  no  school,  and  can  leave 
no  legend,  in  the  sense  that  Rossetti,  Whistler, 
and  Professor  Legros  have  done  ;  he  proclaimed 
no  theory ;  he  left  no  counsel  of  perfection  to 
those  who  came  after  him.  In  England  and 
America  a  horde  of  depressing  disciples  aped 
his  manner  with  a  singular  want  of  success ; 
while  admirable  and  painstaking  artists  modified 
their  own  convictions  in  the  cause  of  unpopu- 
larity with  fatal  results.  The  sensuous  charm 
of  Beardsley's  imagination  and  his  mode  of 
expression  have  only  a  superficial  resemblance 
to  the  foreign  masters  of  black  and  white.  He 
continued  no  great  tradition  of  the  'sixties ;  has 
nothing  in  common  with  the  inventive  and 
various  genius  of  Mr  Charles  Ricketts  ;  nothing 
of  the  pictorial  propriety  that  distinguishes  the 
work  of  his  friend,  Mr  Pennell,  or  the  homo- 
geneous congruity  of  Boyd  Houghton,  Charles 
Keene,  and  Mr  Frederic  Sandys.  He  made  use 
of  different  styles  where  other  men  employed 
different    mediums.      Unperplexed  by  painting 

51 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


or  etching  or  lithography,  he  was  satisfied  with 
the  simplest  of  all  materials,  attaining  therewith 
unapproachable  executive  power.  Those  who 
cavil  at  his  flawless  technique  ignore  the  specific 
quality  of  drawing  characterising  every  great 
artist.  The  grammar  of  art  exists  only  to  be 
violated.  Its  rules  can  be  learnt  by  anyone. 
Those  who  have  no  artistic  perception  invariably 
find  fault  with  the  perspective,  just  as  those  who 
cannot  write  a  well-balanced  sentence  are  always 
swift  to  detect  faults  in  grammar  or  spelling. 
There  are,  of  course,  weaknesses  in  the  ex- 
tremities of  Beardsley's  figures — the  hands  and 
feet  being  interruptions  rather  than  continua- 
tions of  the  limbs.  Occasional  carelessness  in 
this  respect  is  certainly  noticeable,  and  the 
structure  of  his  figures  is  throughout  capricious. 
It  was  no  fault  in  his  early  work  ;  the  hands  and 
feet  in  the  '-'-Joan  of  Arc^''  if  crude  and  exag- 
gerated, being  carefully  modelled.  While  the 
right  hand  of  ^'Salome"  in  ^'•The  Dancer's 
Reward^'  grasping  the  head  of  the  Baptist, 
is  perfectly  drawn,  the  left  is  feeble,  when 
examined  closely.  For  sheer  drawing  nothing 
can  equal  the  nude  figure  in  the  colophon  to 
"Salome."     The  outstretched,  quivering  hands 

52 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


of  AH  Baba  are  intentionally  rendered  larger 
than  proportion  allows,  to  render  dramatic  ex- 
pression, not  reality.  For  the  purpose  of  effect 
he  adapted  proportions,  realizing  that  perfect 
congruity  and  reality  are  irreconcilable.  None 
of  the  figures  in  the  dramatic  ''  Battle  of  Beaux 
and  Belles  "  could  sit  on  the  fallen  chair  in  the 
foreground. 

There  is  no  need  to  disturb  ourselves  with 
hopes  and  fears  for  the  estimation  with  which 
posterity  will  cherish  his  memory ;  art  history 
cannot  afford  to  overlook  him  ;  it  could  hardly 
resist  the  pretext  of  moralising,  expatiating  and 
explaining  away  so  considerable  a  factor  in  the 
book  illustration  of  the  nineties.  As  a  mere 
comment  on  the  admirations  of  the  last  twenty 
years  of  the  nineteenth  century,  Beardsley  is  in- 
valuable ;  he  sums  up  all  the  delightful  manias, 
all  that  is  best  in  modern  appreciation — Greek 
vases,  Italian  primitives,  the  "Hypnerotomachia," 
Chinese  porcelain,  Japanese  Kakemonos,  Renais- 
sance friezes,  old  French  and  English  furniture, 
rare  enamels,  mediasval  illumination,  the  dehon- 
naire  masters  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the 
English  pre-Raphaelites.  There  are  differences 
of  kind  in  aesthetic  beauty,  and  for  Beardsley  it 

SZ 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


was  the  marriage  of  arabesque  to  figures  and 
objects  comely  or  fantastic,  or  in  themselves 
ugly.  For  hitherto  the  true  arabesque  abhorred 
the  graven  image  made  of  artists'  hands.  To 
future  draughtsmen  he  will  have  something  of 
the  value  of  an  old  master,  studied  for  that 
fastidious  technique  which  critics  believed  to 
be  a  trick ;  and  collectors  of  his  work  may  live 
to  be  rallied  for  their  taste ;  but  the  wheat  and 
the  chaiF  contrive  to  exist  together  through  the 
centuries. 

A  passing  reference  should  be  made  to  the 
Beardsley  of  popular  delusion.  A  student  of 
Callot  and  Hogarth,  he  took  suggestions  from 
the  age  in  which  he  lived  and  from  the  litera- 
ture of  English  and  French  contemporaries,  but 
with  no  implicit  acceptance  of  the  tenets  of  any 
groups  or  schools  which  flutter  the  dove-cots  of 
Fleet  Street.  He  stood  apart,  independent  of 
the  shibboleths  of  art  and  literature,  with  the 
grim  and  sometimes  mocking  attention  of  a 
spectator.  He  revealed  rather  than  created  a 
feminine  type,  offering  no  solution  for  the 
problems  of  Providence. 

Applying  the  epithet  "original"  to  an  art 
so  intensely  reminiscent,   so  ingeniously  retro- 

54 


■f 


i 


Hi 


1/ 


D  ALBERT    IN   SEARCH   OF    IDEALS 
Fro77i  "  Mademoiselle  de  Manpiii."    Reproduced  front  the  origijtalin  the  possession  of  Mrs.  Realty 

Wright 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


spective,  might  seem  paradoxical  to  those 
unacquainted  with  Beardsley's  more  elegant 
achievements.  His  is  not  the  originality  of 
Corot  and  Whistler,  with  a  new  interpreta- 
tion of  nature,  another  scheme  of  art  and 
decoration,  but  rather  the  scholarly  originality  of 
the  Carracci — a  scholarship  grounded  on  a  thou- 
sand traditions  and  yet  striking  an  entirely  new 
note  in  art.  In  his  imagination,  his  choice  of 
motive,  his  love  for  inanimate  nature,  his  senti- 
ment for  accessory, — rejected  by  many  modern 
artists,  still  so  necessary  to  the  modern  temper, 
— his  curious  type,  which  quite  overshadowed 
that  of  the  pre-Raphaelites,  the  singular  tech- 
nical qualities  at  his  command,  Beardsley  has 
no  predecessors,  no  rivals.  Who  has  ever 
managed  to  suggest  such  colour  in  masses  of 
black  deftly  composed  .'^  Reference  to  the  text 
is  unnecessary  to  learn  that  the  hair  of  Herodias 
was  purple.  His  style  was  mobile,  dominating 
over,  or  subordinate  to  the  subject,  as  his 
genius  dictated.  He  twisted  human  forms, 
some  will  think,  into  fantastic  peculiar  shapes, 
becoming  more  than  romantic — antinomian.  He 
does  not  appeal  to  experience  but  to  expres- 
sion.   The  tranquil  trivialities  of  what  is  usually 

55 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


understood  by  the  illustration  of  books  had  no 
meaning  for  him  ;  and  before  any  attempt  is 
made  to  discriminate  and  interpret  the  spirit, 
the  poetical  sequence,  the  literary  inspiration 
which  undoubtedly  existed  throughout  his  work, 
side  by  side  with  technical  experiments,  his 
exemption  from  the  parallels  of  criticism  must 
be  remembered  duly. 


56 


LIST  OF  DRAWINGS 
BY  AUBREY  BEARDSLEY 
COMPILED    BY   AYMER  VALLANCE 


LIST        OF        DRAWINGS 
BY     AUBREY      BEARDSLEY 

JUVENILIA 

1.  A  Carnival.    Long  procession  of  many  figures  in  fifteenth 

and  sixteenth  century  costume.  Water-colour  drawing. 
Unpublished.  Given  by  the  artist  to  his  grandfather, 
the  late  Surgeon-Major  William  Pitt,     c,  1880. 

2.  The  Jackdaw  of  Rheims,  set  of  illustrations  to  the  poem. 

Unpublished,     c,  1884. 

3.  Virgil's  "^neid,"  nine  comic  illustrations  to  Book  II. 

The  title-page,  written  in  rough  imitation  of  printing, 
with  the  Artist's  naif  and  inaccurate  spelling,  is 
as  follows : — Illustrationes  de  |  liber  Secundus  | 
^neidos  I  Publius  Wirgius  Maronis  I  by  |  Beardslius 
I  de  I  Brightelmstoniensis.  The  illustrations  are 
entitled  : — 

I.  Laocoon  hurleth  his  spear  against  the  horse. 
II.   Laocoon  and  son  crunched  up. 
III.   Little    July  tries    to    keep    up   with   Papa.       Old 

Father  Anchises  sitteth  on  Papa's  shoulders  and 

keeps  a  good  look-out. 

IV.  Parvi  lulus. 

V.  Helen. 

VI.  Pan  thus  departs,  bag  and  baggage. 
VII.  Sinon  telleth  his  tale  unto  King  Priam. 

59 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


VIII.  One  of  the  cinders  of  Illium. 
IX.   (No    title.)        The    drawing,    to     illustrate    two 
comic   verses  written  at  the  top  of  the  paper, 
represents  ^neas  being  carried  up  into  the  air 
by  means  of  a  balloon  attached  to  his  helmet. 
All  the  above  are  drawn  in  ordinary  ink  upon  plain 
white  paper  of  the  kind  used  for  rough  work  at  the 
school,   and    all   are   of  uniform   size,   7;j  x  5  inches, 
except  No.  9,  which  is  on  a  double-size  sheet,  measuring 
7jx  10  inches.     Unpublished.      (Property  of  H.  A. 
Payne,  Esq.)      September  to  December  1886. 
Virgil's   "^neid,"   nineteen    humorous    sketches  illus- 
trative of  Book  II.,  entitled: — 

I.  jEneas  relateth  the  tale  to  Dido. 

II.  Laocoon  hurls  the  spear. 

III.  Sinon  is  brought  before  Priam. 

IV.  Calchas  will  not  betray  anyone. 

V.   "  All  night  I  lay  hid  in  a  weedy  lake." 
VI.  The  Palladium  is  snatched  away. 

VII.  The  Palladium  jumpeth. 

VIII.  Laocoon  sacrificeth  on  the  sand. 
IX.   Sinon  opens  the  bolt. 

X.  Hector's  ghost. 
XI.  iEneas  heareth  the  clash  of  arms. 

XII.  Panthus  fleeth. 

XIII.  Pyrrhus  exulteth. 

XIV.  Death  of  Priam. 

XV.  ^neas  debateth  whether  he  shall  slay  Helen. 
XVI.  Venus  appeareth  to  ^neas. 

XVII.  Jupiter  hurls  the  lightning. 

XVIII.  -^neas  and  company  set  out  from  Troy. 
XIX.  jEneas  seeth  Creusa's  ghost. 

60 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


The  above  drawings  in  ordinary  ink  are  contained 
in  a  copy-book,  8  x  6J  inches.  Unpublished.  Ex- 
hibited in  London  at  Carfax  &  Co.'s  Galleries, 
October  1904.  (Property  of  Harold  Hartley,  Esq.) 
End  of  1886. 

5.  The    Pope    weighs    heavily    on    the    Church.      Pen- 

drawing  contained  in  the  same  copy-book  with  the 
last-named. 

6.  John  smiles,  a  comic  illustration  to  the  school  history 

book,  representing  King  John  in  the  act  of  signing 
Magna  Charta.  Pen-drawing  on  paper  7;|  x  5  inches. 
Unpublished.      (Property  of  H.  A,  Payne,  Esq.) 

7.  Saint  Bradlaugh,  M.P.,  a  caricature.     Pen-drawing  on 

a  half  sheet  of  notepaper.  Unpublished.  (Property  of 
H.  A,  Payne,  Esq.) 

8.  Autumn  Tints.     Caricature  in  black  and  white  of  the 

artist's  schoolmaster,  Mr  Marshall,  expounding  to  his 
pupils  the  beauties  of  nature.  Unpublished.  Given  to 
Ernest  Lambert,  Esq.,  Brighton,     c,  1886-7. 

Beside  the  above-named  there  must  have  been  numbers 
of  such  drawings  belonging  to  this  early  period ;  for  in 
his  schooldays  Aubrey  Beardsley  was,  to  quote  the 
words  of  Mr  H.  A.  Payne,  "constantly  doing  these 
little,  rough,  humorous  sketches,  which  he  gave  away 
wholesale."  Many  have  been  destroyed  or  lost,  others 
dispersed  abroad.  Thus,  for  instance,  one  old  Brighton 
Grammar  School  boy,  G.  E.  Pitt-Schenkel,  told 
Mr  Payne  that  he  was  in  possession  of  some,  which  he 
took  out  to  South  Africa. 
61 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


9.  The  Jubilee  Cricket  Analysis.     Eleven  tiny  pen-and- 

ink  sketches,  entitled  respectively  : — 
I.  A  good  bowler. 
II.  Over. 

III.  Slip. 

IV.  Square  leg. 
V.   Shooters. 

VI.  Caught. 

VII.  A  block. 
VIII.  A  demon  bowler. 

IX.  Stumped. 
X.  Long  leg. 

XI.  Cutting  a  ball. 
All  these  subjects  being  represented,  in  humorous  fashion, 
by  literal  equivalents.  These  drawings,  though  they 
cannot  pretend  to  any  merit,  are  notable  as  the  earliest 
specimens  to  be  published  of  the  artist's  work.  Together 
they  formed  a  whole-page  photo-lithographic  illustration 
in  Past  and  Present,  the  Brighton  Grammar  School 
Magazine,  June  1887. 

10.  Congreve's  "Double  Dealer,"  illustration  of  a  scene 
from,  comprising  Maskwell  and  Lady  Touchwood.  Pen 
drawing  with  sepia  wash,  on  a  sheet  of  paper  13I  x  11 
inches.  Unpublished.  (Property  of  H.  A.  Payne,  Esq.) 
Signed  and  dated  June  30,  1888. 

11.  Holywell  Street.    Wash  drawing.     First  published  in 

The  Poster,  Aug.  -  Sept.  1898.  Republished  in 
"The  Early  Work  of  Aubrey  Beardsley,  with  a 
Prefatory  Note  by  H.  C.  Marillier."  John  Lane, 
March  1899.  (Property  of  Charles  B.  Cochran,  Esq., 
1888.) 

62 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


The  Pay  of  the  Pied  Piper  :  A  Legend  of  Hamelin 
Town.  Eleven  line  drawings  in  illustration  of,  as 
follows : — 

I.  Entrance    of    Councillors,    headed    by    Beadle 

carrying   a  mace.      Reproduced  in   The  West' 

minster  Budget ^  March  25,  1898. 

II.  Rats  feeding  upon  a  cheese  in  a  dish.     Repro- 

duced in  Westminster  Budget^  March  25,  1898. 

III.  Child  climbing  into  an  armchair  to  escape  from 

the  rats.  Reproduced  in  The  Poster y  Aug.- 
Sept.  1898. 

IV.  The  Sitting  of  the  Council,  under  the  presidency 

of  the  Burgomaster. 

V.  Deputation  of  Ladies. 

VI.  Two  rats  on    their    hind  legs,  carrying  off  the 

Beadle's    mace :    behind    them    are    three    rats 
running.       Reproduced  in   Westminster  Budget^ 
March  25,  1898. 
VII.  Meeting  between  the  Beadle  and  the  Piper. 
VIII.  The  rats  follow  the  Piper  out  of  the  town.     Re- 
published   in    Westminster   Budget j    March    25, 
1898,  and  in  The  Poster,  Aug. -Sept.  1898. 
IX.  Citizens  rejoice  at  the  departure  of  the  rats. 

X.  The   Piper    is  dismissed    by   the   Beadle.       Re- 

published in  Westminster  Budget,  March  25, 
1898,  and  also  in  Magazine  of  Art,  May 
1898. 

XI.  The  Piper  entices  away  the  children. 

The  above  illustrations  vary  in  size  from  3  J  x  2  J  to 
6J  X  Af\  inches.  They  are  unsigned,  but  a  prefatory 
note  describes  them  as  being  "the  perfectly  original 
designs   and   drawings    of  a   boy  now  in  the  school, 

63 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


A.  V.  Beardsley "  ;  and  adds :  "Our  regret  is  that, 
lacking  experience  in  the  preparation  of  drawings  for 
the  photo-engraver,  the  reproductions  should  fall  so  far 
short  of  the  original  sketches."  Published  in  the 
programme  and  book  of  words  of  the  Brighton 
Grammar  School  Annual  Entertainment  at  the  Dome, 
on  Wednesday,  Dec.  19,  1888;  bound  up  afterwards 
with  Past  and  Present,  February  1889.  Latter  part  of 
1888. 

13.  A  ScRAP-BooK,  size  9  J  x  7  inches,  the  fly-leaf  inscribed, 
in  his  own  writing,  ji,  Beardsley,  6/5/90,  presented  by 
the  artist's  mother  to  Robert  Ross,  Esq.  Contains  the 
following  drawings,  mounted  as  scraps  : — 

I.  Manon  Lescaut,  three  drawings  to  illustrate  different 

scenes  from.  Executed  with  very  fine  pen  and 
ink,  the  latter  having,  as  compared  with  maturer 
works,  a  brownish  tinge.  One  of  them  first 
appeared  in  "  A  Second  Book  of  Fifty  Drawings 
by  Aubrey  Beardsley"  (Leonard  Smithers, 
December  1898),  and  all  three  were  included 
in  "The  Later  Work  of  Aubrey  Beardsley" 
(John  Lane,  1901). 

II.  La  Dame  aux  Camelias.    4I  inches  square,  pen  and 

brownish  ink  with  wash.  First  published  in 
"Second  Book,"  and  afterwards  in  "Later 
Work."  This  is  a  totally  different  design  from 
that  which  afterwards  appeared,  with  the  same 
title,  in  "  The  Yellow  Book."     See  below. 

III.  Tartarin,  two  illustrations  of,  in  pencil  and  colours, 

size  4^^  X  2|  and  4J  x  3 J  inches  respectively. 

IV.  La  Lecon  (Madame  Bovary).    5;^  x  6|.    Chinese 

64 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


white  and  dark  sepia  wash.     First  pubHshed  in 
"  Second     Book,"     and     again     in     "  Later 
Work." 
V.  L'Abbe  Birotteau  (Cure  de  Tours).    3x2  inches. 
Pen-and-ink  with  wash,  on  pale  greenish  paper. 

VI.  L'Abbe  Troubert  (Cure  de  Tours).   5  x  2|  inches. 

Dark  sepia  wash. 

VII.  Madame  Bovary.     sf  x  3^  inches.    Pencil.    First 

published  in    "  Second    Book,''    and    again  in 
"Later  Work." 
VIII.  Sapho  (Daudet).     Wanting.     Over  its  place  has 
been  gummed  another  drawing,  also  wanting,  its 
title  written  at  the  foot,  Uhomme  qui  rii. 

IX.  Le     Cousin     Pons.       5^  x  2f    inches.       Indian 

ink. 

X.  Portrait  of  Alphonse  Daudet.      2|  x  2^  inches. 

Indian  ink  on  pale  blue  paper. 
XI.  Watteau,  Ma  Cousine     (Cousin  Pons).     5 J  x  2|- 
inches.      Pen-and-ink  with  wash  on  pale  grey 
toned  paper. 
XII.  Mademoiselle  Gamard  (Cure  de  Tours).     3^^  x  2^ 
inches.     Indian  ink  wash. 

XIII.  Madame  Cibot  (Cousin  Pons).     4x2^  inches. 

Indian  ink  wash. 

XIV.  (Jack)  Attendons!     3I  inches  high,  irregular  sil- 

houette.    Dark  sepia  wash. 

XV.  Jeanne  D'Arc,  the  childhood  of.     9  x  3|  inches. 

Sepia  and  madder  wash  on  toned  paper.     First 
published  in  "  Second  Book,"  again  in  "  Later 
Work." 
XYi.  Frontispiece  to  Balzac's    *'Contes  Drolatiques." 
6|  X  4^^  inches.     Drawn  after  the  manner  of 

E  6s 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


Richard  Doyle.      First  published  in  *<  Second 
Book,"  again  in  "  Later  Work." 

XVII.  Ph^dre  (Act  ii.  scene  5).    3|^  x  3 J  inches.    Pencil 

and    colours.       First    published    in    **  Second 
Book,"  again  in  "  Later  Work." 

XVIII.  Manon  Lescaut,  three-quarter  length,  woman  to 

left,  with  fan.    5  J  x  3  J  inches.    Water-colour  on 
grey  paper.    First  published  in  "  Second  Book," 
again  in  *<  Later  Work." 
XIX,   Beatrice  Cenci.    6^  x  2|  inches.    Pencil  and  sepia 
wash.     First    published   in    "  Second    Book," 
again  in  "  Later  Work." 
Unless   otherwise   stated  as  above,  the   works   in 
this  collection   are   unpublished  ;   all  were   executed 
1889-90. 


66 


LATER  WORK. 

14.  Francesca  di  Rimini  (Dante).     Head  in  profile,  to  left ; 

pencil.     First  published  in  "  Later  Work." 

15.  Dante  at  the  Court  of  Can  Grande  della  Scala. 
Circular  design,  in  pencil.  (Property  of  Miss  H. 
Glover.) 

16.  Dante  in  Exile.  Dante  seated  on  the  left,  the  words 
of  the  Sonnet  inscribed  on  the  right,  with  decorations 
recalling  some  design  of  William  Blake's.  Signed 
A.V.B.  First  published  in  "Later  Work." 
(Formerly  the  property  of  the  late  Hampden  Gurney, 
Esq.) 

17.  "I  saw  three  Ships  come  sailing  by  on  Christmas  Day 
in  the  Morning."  Pencil.  Designed  as  a  Christmas 
card  for  the  late  Rev.  Alfred  Gurney.  Published  in 
"Later  Work."     c,  1890-1. 

18.  Hail  Mary.  Profile  of  a  head  to  left.  Pencil  drawing, 
4^  X  5 J  inches.  First  published  in  The  Studio^ 
May  1898,  again  in  "Early  Work."  (Property  of 
Frederick  H.  Evans,  Esq.)      1891. 

19.  Head,  three-quarter   face  to  right,  with  a  Wreath  of 

Grapes  and  Vine  Leaves  and  background  of  tree  trunks. 
Lead-pencil  sketch  5 J  x  5^  inches.  Unpublished. 
(Property  of  John  Lane,  Esq.)     circa  1891. 

20.  Thel  gathering  the  Lily.  Pen-and-ink  with  water- 
colour  wash.  (Formerly  the  property  of  Robert  Ross, 
Esq.) 

67 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


2 1 .  Two  FIGURES  IN  A  Garret,  both  Seated,  a  woman  harangu- 

ing a  young  man.  Ink  and  wash  sketch,  3  J  x  4^^  inches. 
PubUshed  in  "  Early  Work."  (Property  of  Frederick 
H.  Evans,  Esq.) 

22.  E.  BuRNE- Jones.  Portrait  sketch  in  pen-and-ink,  with 
slight  wash.  A  memorandum  of  Aubrey  Beardsley's 
first  call  on  Sir  Edward  Burne-Jones,  dated  Sunday, 
1 2th  July  1 89 1,  and  signed  with  monogram,  A.V.B. 
Size,  6|  X  4^  inches.  Eight  copies  only.  Printed 
on  India  paper.  Published  by  James  Tregaskis, 
Caxton  Head,  High  Holborn,  in  1899.     July  1891. 

23.  The  Witch  of  Atlas.     Pen-and-ink  and  water-colour 

wash.  First  reproduced  (lacking  ornamental  border) 
in  "Second  Book,"  again  in  "Later  Work."  (For- 
merly the  property  of  Robert  Ross,  Esq.) 

24.  MoLifeRE.     Blue  water-colour  wash.     First  published  in 

"  Later  Work."  (Formerly  the  property  of  Robert 
Ross,  Esq.) 

25.  Die  GotterdAmmerung.  Decorative  composition  in 
white  and  Indian  ink,  influenced  by  Burne-Jones.  First 
published  in  "  Second  Book,"  again  in  "  Later 
Work."    (Formerly  the  property  of  Robert  Ross,  Esq. ) 

26.  SoLEiL  CoucHANT.  Decorative  composition  in  Indian 
ink.  (The  motif  of  the  central  part  was  subsequently 
adapted  for  a  vignette  in  the  ^'Morte  Darthur," 
Book  II.  chap,  xii.)  First  published  in  "Later 
Work."  (Formerly  the  property  of  the  late  Hampden 
Gurney,  Esq.) 

68 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


27.  Tannhauser.   Study  for  decorative  composition,  in  Indian 

ink.  5I  X  7^  inches.  First  published  in  "Later 
Work."  (Property  of  Dr  Rowland  Thurnam.) 
1891. 

28.  Withered  Spring.  Decorative  composition  in  Indian 
ink.  Catalogued  in  "  Fifty  Drawings  "  as  "  Lament  of 
the  Dying  Year."  (The  motif  of  the  central  part  was 
subsequently  adapted  for  a  vignette  in  the  **  Morte 
Darthur,"  Book  I.  chap,  xii.)  First  published  in 
"Later  Work."  (Property  of  Dr  Rowland 
Thurnam. ) 

29.  I.  Perseus.     Pen-and-ink  and  light  wash.     Design 

for  an  upright  panel,  with  standing  nude  figure, 
above  it  a  frieze  of  smaller  figures.  1 8  x  6 J 
inches.  First  published  in  "Early  Work." 
(Property  of  Frederick  H.  Evans,  Esq.) 
II.  A  pencil  sketch  of  two  figures,  unfinished,  on  the 
reverse  of  the  preceding.  Published  in  "  Early 
Work." 

30.  L'Abbe  Mouret.     Decorative  design  for  frontispiece  of 

Zola's  "La  Faute  de  TAbbe  Mouret."  Ink  and 
wash.  First  published  in  "  Under  the  Hill."  John 
Lane.     1904.     (Property  of  John  Lane,  Esq.) 

31.  Hamlet  patris  manem  Sequitur.  Pencil  drawing. 
Printed  in  red,  as  frontispiece  to  The  Bee,  the 
Magazine  of  the  Blackburn  Technical  School, 
November  1891  ;  reprinted,  in  black,  in  "Second 
Book,"  again  in  "  Early  Work."      Latter  part  1891. 

32.  Perseus  and  the  Monstre.  Pencil  design,  5^  x  7 J 
inches.      First    appeared  in    illustration    of  an   article 

69 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


entitled,  "The  Invention  of  Aubrey  Beardsley,"  by 
Aymer  Vallance,  in  The  Magazine  of  Arty  May  1898  ; 
again  in  "  Early  Work.''  (Property  of  Aymer 
Vallance,  Esq.)      1891. 

33.  The  Procession  of  Jeanne  d'Arc.  Pencil  outline, 
treatment  inspired  by  Mantegna,  1 9^  long  by  6 J  inches 
high.  First  published  in  Magazine  of  Arty  May 
1898;  again  as  double  page  in  **  Second  Book"; 
again,  reduced,  in  collotype,  in  "  Early  Work."  (Pro- 
perty of  Frederick  H.  Evans,  Esq.)      1891-2. 

A  pen-and-ink  version  of  the  Procession,  30  inches 
long  by  7  high,  was  made  subsequently,  about  the 
Spring  of  1892,  for  Robert  Ross,  Esq.  Published  in 
The  Studio  ;  see  below. 

34.  The   Litany  of  Mary   Magdalen.     Pencil  drawing. 

First  published  in  "  Second  Book,"  again  in  "  Later 
Work."  (Formerly  Property  of  More  Adey,  Esq.) 
1892. 

35.  The  Virgin  and  Lily.     Madonna  standing  in  front  of  a 

Renaissance  niche  and  surrounded  by  Saints,  among 
them  St  John  Baptist  kneeling.  Pencil  outline. 
Reproduced  in  photogravure  in  "  Later  Work." 
(Formerly  the  property  of  the  late  Rev.  Alfred 
Gurney,  afterwards  in  the  possession  of  his  son,  the 
late  Hampden  Gurney,  Esq.) 

36.  Children  Decorating  a  Terminal  God.     Pen-and-ink. 

(Formerly  the  property  of  M.  Puvis  de  Chavannes.) 

37.  Fred  Brown,  N.E.A.C.  Pen-and-ink  sketch  of  the 
art-master  in  studio.     Signed  with  monogram  A.V.B. 

70 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


First  published  in  "Under  the  Hill."  (Property  of 
Miss  Nellie  Syrett.) 

38.  Study  of  Figures,  horizontal  fragment  from,  containing 
Ryc  heads  and  parts  of  two  more.  Pencil.  Published 
in  "Under  the  Hill."  (Property  of  Miss  Nellie 
Syrett.) 

39.  Portrait  of  the  Artist.      Full  face.      Pen-and-ink. 

First  published  in  "  Second  Book,"  again  in  "  Later 
Work."  (Presented  by  Robert  Ross,  Esq.,  to  the 
British  Museum.) 

40.  SiDONiA  THE  Sorceress.  A  design  to  illustrate  Meinhold's 

Romance,  representing  Sidonia,  not  in  religious  habit, 
with  the  demon-cat,  Chim.  William  Morris's  criticism 
that  the  face  of  Sidonia  was  not  pretty  enough,  and 
another  suggested  improvement  on  the  part  of  a  friend 
of  Aubrey  Beardsley's,  induced  him  to  try  to  better  the 
picture  by  altering  the  hair.  The  result  was  so  far 
from  satisfactory  that  it  is  almost  certain  that  the 
drawing  was  destroyed  by  the  artist.  First  half  of 
1892. 

41.  Le  Debris  d'un  Poete.  Pen-and-ink.  First  published 
in  "Aubrey  Beardsley,"  by  Arthur  Symons  (Sign  of 
the  Unicorn,  London,  1898).  (Property  of  Andre 
RafFalovich,  Esq.) 

42.  Incipit  Vita  Nova.  Chinese,  white,  and  Indian  ink 
on  brown  paper.  First  published  in  "  Second  Book," 
again  in  "  Later  Work."  (Property  of  Messrs  Carfax 
&  Co.)      1892. 

43.  Head  of  an  Angel,  in  profile,  to  left,  flaming  heart  held 
in  left  hand.     Pencil,  on  a  half-sheet  of  grey  notepaper, 

71 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


signed  with  monogram  A.V.B.  5I  x  3^  inches. 
First  published  in  photogravure  "  Second  Book," 
again  in  "  Later  Work " ;  also  printed  in  4-inch 
square  form  on  card  for  private  distribution,  Christmas 
1905.  (Property  of  the  artist's  sister,  Mrs  George 
Bealby  Wright  [Miss  Mabel  Beardsley].)     c,  1892. 

44.  Adoramus  Te.  Four  angels  in  a  circle  (7  inches 
in  diameter)  playing  musical  instruments,  pencil  and 
coloured  chalks.  Signed  A.V.B.  monogram.  De- 
signed as  a  Christmas  card  for  the  late  Rev.  Alfred 
Gurney.  First  published  in  photogravure  in  "  Second 
Book,"  again  in  "  Later  Work."  (Property  of  Mrs 
George  Bealby  Wright.) 

45.  A  Christmas  Carol.  Two  angels,  one  of  them  playing  a 
hand-organ,  in  a  circle  (j\  inches  diameter),  pencil  and 
coloured  chalks.  Designed  as  a  Christmas  card  for  the 
late  Rev.  Alfred  Gurney.  First  published  in  photo- 
gravure in  **  Second  Book,"  again  in  "  Later  Work." 
Also  in  photogravure,  3  inches  diameter,  for  private 
circulation.  (Property  of  Mrs  George  Bealby  Wright.) 
Christmas,  1892. 

46.  La  Femme  Incomprise.  Pen-and-ink  and  wash.  First 
published  in  the  spring  number  of  To-Day^  1^95  \ 
again  in  the  Idler  magazine,  March   1897. 

47.  Sandro  Botticelli,  three-quarter  face  to  left,  pencil, 
signed  with  monogram  A.V.B.  ;  14  x  7f  inches;  a 
reconstruction  of  the  Florentine  painter's  physiognomy 
from  his  extant  works,  to  illustrate  Aubrey  Beardsley's 
theory  that  every  artist  tends  to  reproduce  his  own 
physical    type.       Presented   by   the    artist    to  Aymer 

72 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


Vallance,  Esq.  First  published  in  the  Magazine  of 
Art^  May  1898;  afterwards  in  "Early  Work." 
c,  1892-3. 

48.  Raphael  Sanzio.  Full-length  figure,  three-quarter 
face  to  left,  a  decorative  panel  in  pen-and-ink,  lof  x  3^ 
inches,  exclusive  of  border  lines.  Unpublished.  (Pro- 
perty of  Messrs  Obach  &:  Co.) 

49.  Cephalus  and  Procris.     Pen-and-ink. 

50.  Small  Bookmarker,  woman  undressing,  a  Turkish  table 
in  the  foreground.  Pen-and-ink.  First  published  in 
"Second  Book,"  again  in  "Later  Work."  (Pro- 
perty of  Sir  William  Geary,  Bart.)      1893. 

51.  Hermaphroditus,  seated  figure,  pencil  and  pale  colour 
tints.  Reproduced  in  colour  in  "  Later  Work." 
(Property  of  Julian  Sampson,  Esq.) 

52.  L'apres-midi  d'un  Faune,  par  Mallarme ;  four  designs 
extra-illustrating  a  copy  of.  One  of  them,  a  pen-and- 
ink  vignette  of  a  faun,  full  face,  signed  with  monogram 
A.  V.B.,  was  published  in  "  Second  Book,"  The  others 
unpublished.     1893. 

53.  Decorative  Sketch  Design  of  a  Sailing  Ship.  i|  x  2^ 
inches.  Pen-and-ink  on  white  from  the  back  of  a 
letter  to  Aymer  Vallance,  Esq.  First  published  in 
Magazine  of  Art ^  May  1898  ;  again  in  "  Early  Work." 
c.  1893. 

54.  Angel  Playing  Hand-Organ.  Pen-and-ink  and  slight 
wash,  on  pale  grey  notepaper,  from  a  letter  to  Aymer 
Vallance,  Esq.  First  published  in  Magazine  of  Art^ 
May  1898  ;  again  in  "Early  Work."     c,  1893. 

11 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


55.  The  Pall  Mall  Budget,  1893  and  1894. 

I.  Mr  H.  a.  Jones  and  his  Bauble  ;  pen-and-ink. 

Feb.   2,   1893,  P*    '50« 

II.  The  New  Coinage.     Four  designs  that  were  not 

sent  in  for  competition,  p.  154.  Another  design, 
embodying  a  caricature  of  Queen  Victoria,  was 
suppressed. 

III.  "  Becket  "  at  the  Lyceum. 

1.  Mr  Irving  as  Becket ;    wash  drawing.      Feb. 

9th,  front  page, 

2.  Master  Leo,  p.  188. 

3.  Queen  Eleanor,  p.  188. 

4.  Margery,  p.  188. 

5.  The  King  makes  a  Move  on  the  Board,  p.  188. 

6.  Miss  Terry  (as  Rosamond),  p.  188. 

7.  Mr  Gordon  Craig,  p.  190. 

8.  The  Composer,  p.  190. 

IV.       I.  The  Disappointment  of  Emile  Zola,  p.  202. 
2.  Emile  Zola  ;  a  portrait,  p.  204. 
(RepubHshed  in   "Pall  Mall   Pictures  of  the 
Year,"  1893,  and  in  The  Studio,  June  1893.) 
V.  Verdi's  "Falstaff,"  at  Milan,  Feb.  i6th. 
Initial  letter  V  ;  pen-and-ink,  p.  236. 
Portrait  of  Verdi ;  ink  and  wash,  p.  236. 

VI.  Pope  Leo  XIII.'s  Jubilee,  Feb.  23rd. 

The  Pilgrim  (old  style),  p.  270. 
The  Pilgrim  (new  style),  p.  270. 

VII.  The  Reappearance  of  Mrs  Bancroft. 

1.  Mr  i\.rthur  Cecil  (Baron  Stein),  p.  281. 

2.  Mrs  Bancroft  (Lady  Fairfax),  p.  281. 

3.  Mr  Forbes  Robertson  (Julian  Beauclere), p.  2  8 1 . 

4.  Mr  Bancroft  (Count  Orloff),  p.  281. 

74 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


VIII.  Caricature  of  a  Golf  Player,  in  classical  helmet, 
March  9th,  p.  376. 
IX.  Orpheus  at  the  Lyceum,  March  i6th. 

1.  One  of  the  Spirits,  Act  IL,  p.  395. 

2.  Orpheus  (Miss  Clara  Butt),  p.  395. 

3.  A  Visitor  at  the  Rehearsal,  p.  395. 

4.  Some  Dresses  in  the  Chorus,  p.  395. 

X.  Portrait  of  the  late  Jules  Ferry  :  wash  draw- 
ing, March  23rd,  p.  435. 
XI.  Bullet-Proof  Uniform  :  Tommy  Atkins  thinks 

it  rather  fun,  March  30,  p.  491. 
XII.  Mr   Frederick  Harrison's   "  Ideal  Novelist," 

April  20,  p.  620. 
XIII.  A  New  Year's  Dream,  after  studying  Mr  Pennell's 
"Devils   of  Notre  Dame."       Republished   in 
«  Early  Work."     Jan.  4th,  1894,  p.  8. 

56.  Mr  Par  NELL,  sketch  portrait  of  the  Irish  party  leader, 
head  and  shoulders,  three  quarters  face  to  left,  pencil, 
half  tone  reproduction,  4I  x  3  J  inches. 

57.  I.  The  Studio.     Design  for  wrapper  in  two  states,  the 

original  design  containing  a  seated  figure  of  Pan, 
omitted  in  the  later  version.  First  state  on  brown 
paper.  The  same,  reduced,  in  black  on  green,  for 
prospectus,  republished  in  The  Studio,  May  1898,  and 
again  in  "  Early  Work." 

Second  state,  black  on  green,  also  in  gold  on  rough 
white  paper  for  presentation  to  Royalty  (Nov.  15th, 
1893).  The  same,  reduced,  and  printed  in  dark 
green  on  white,  for  a  prospectus,  republished  in  "  Early 
Work."  The  same,  enlarged  and  printed  in  black 
on  light  green,  for  a  poster. 

75 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


The  Studio,  No.  i,  April  1893,  accompanying  an 
article  entitled  "A  New  Illustrator:  Aubrey  Beardsley," 
by  Joseph  Pennell,  contained  : — 
II.   Reduced  reproduction  of  the  pen-and-ink  replica 
of  Jeanne  d'Arc   procession.     Republished   as 
large  folding  supplement  in  No.  2. 
III.   Siegfried,  Act  II.,  from  the  original  drawing  in  line 
and  wash,  signed  A.V.B.,  presented  by  the  artist 
to  Sir  Edward  Burne- Jones,  after  whose  death 
it  was  given  back  by  Lady  Burne-Jones,  to  the 
artist's  mother,  Mrs  Beardsley.       Republished 
in  *<  Early  Work." 

IV.  The  Birthday  of  Madame  Cigale,  line  and  wash, 

15  inches  long  by  9 J  inches  high,  influenced 
by  Japanese  models.  Reproduced  in  "  Early 
Work."     (Property  of  Charles  Holme,  Esq.) 

V.  Les  Revenants  de  Musique,  line  and  wash.     Re- 

produced in  « Early  Work."  (Property  of 
Charles  Holme,  Esq.) 
VI.  Salome  with  the  head  of  St  John  the  Baptist.  Up- 
right panel  in  Chinese  ink  on  white,  10^  by  5^^ 
inches,  exclusive  of  framing  lines.  This  was  the 
first  design  suggested  to  the  artist  by  Oscar 
Wilde's  French  play  of  «  Salome."  It  differs 
from  the  later  version  of  the  same  subject  in  being 
richer  and  more  complex.  It  contains  the  legend, 
omitted  in  the  later  \ersion,  j' at  liaise  ia  bouche 
Iokanaan,j'ai  batse  ta  louche.  The  treatment  is 
obviously  influenced  by  Japanese  work,  and  also 
by  that  of  the  French  Symboliste  school, 
e.g,  Carlos  Schwabe.  RepubHshed  in  "Early 
Work."     Subsequently  to  its  appearance  in  The 

76 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


Studio,  the  artist  experimentally  tinted  it  with 
green  colour  washes.  In  its  final  state  it  has 
not  been  published.  (Formerly  the  property  of 
Mrs  Ernest  Leverson,  now  of  Miss  K.  Doulton.) 

VII.  Reduced  reproduction  of  the  second  version  of  the 
Jeanne  d'Arc  procession.  The  same  appeared, 
full  size,  as  a  folding  plate  supplement,  in  No. 
2  ofne  Studio,  May  1893. 

In  the  first  number  of  7^he  Studio  (April)  also 
were  published,  by  anticipation,  four  designs  from 
the  "  Morte  Darthur,"  due  to  begin  its  serial 
appearance  in  the  following  June,  viz. : — 
VIII.  Initial  letter  I. 

IX.  Merlin  taketh  the  child  Arthur  into  his  keeping 

(full  page,  including  border). 
X.  Ornamental  border  for  full  page. 

XI.  Frieze  for  chapter-heading ;  six  men  fighting, 
on  foot,  three  of  them  panoplied.  Reproduced 
in  Magazine  of  Art,  November  1896,  "Fifty 
Drawings,"  Idler,  March  1897,  and  St  PauPs, 
April  9th,  1898.  The  original  drawing  is  13I 
inches  long  by  4J  inches.  As  may  be  seen, 
even  in  the  reduced  reproduction,  one  inch  at 
either  end  was  added  by  the  artist  at  the  request 
of  his  publisher,  so  as  to  increase  the  proportionate 
length  of  the  ornament.  Subsequently  Mr 
Frederick  H.  Evans  photographed  the  drawing, 
full  size,  and  produced  fifteen  platinotype  copies, 
of  which  twelve  only  were  for  sale,  and  the 
plate  destroyed. 
58.  Design  of  Dandelions,  for  publishers'  trade  mark  for 
Dent  &  Co. 


77 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


59.  Le  Morte  Darthur,  by  Sir  Thomas  Malory.  J.  M. 
Dent  &  Co.  300  copies  on  Dutch  hand-made  paper 
and  1500  ordinary  copies.  Issued  in  Parts,  beginning 
June  1893. 

I.  Vol.    I.,     1893.       Frontispiece — "How    King 
Arthur  saw  the   Questing   Beast,   and  thereof 
had  great  marvel."     Photogravure. 
Full-page  illustrations : — 

II.  Merlin  taketh  the  child  Arthur  into  his  keeping. 

(Reduced  reproduction  in  Idler ^  May  1898.) 

III.  The  Lady  of  the   Lake  telleth   Arthur   of  the 

sword  Excalibur. 

IV.  Merlin  and  Nimue. 

V.  Arthur  and  the  strange  mantle. 

VI.  How    four    queens    found    Launcelot    sleeping. 

(Property  of  A.   E.  Gallatin,  Esq.) 

VII.  Sir  Launcelot  and  the  witch  Hellawes.    (Property 

of  A.  E.  Gallatin,  Esq.) 

VIII.  How  la  Beale  Isoud  nursed  Sir  Tristram. 
IX.  How  Sir  Tristram  drank  the  love  drink. 

X.  How  la  Beale  Isoud  wrote  to  Sir  Tristram. 
XI.  How  King  Mark  found  Sir  Tristram  sleeping. 

XII.  How   Morgan    le    Fay   gave    a   sword    to    Sir 

Tristram. 

XIII.  Vol.  II.,  1894.  Frontispiece — "  The  achieving  of 

the  Sangreal."     Photogravure.      (This  was  the 
first  design  executed  for  the  work.) 
Full  page  and  double  page  illustrations  : — 

XIV.  How   King   Mark  and   Sir   Dinadan   heard  Sir 

Palomides  making  great  sorrow  and  mourning 
for  la  Beale  Isoud  (double  page). 

XV.  La  Beale  Isoud  at  Joyous  Gard  (double  page). 

78 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


XVI.  How  Sir  Launcelot  was  known  by  Dame  Elaine 

(full  page). 

XVII.  How  a  devil  in  woman's  likeness  would  have 

tempted  Sir  Bors  (double  page). 
XVIII.  How  Queen  Guenever  rode  on  maying   (double 

page). 
XIX.  How  Sir  Bedivere  cast  the  sword  Excalibur  into 
the  water  (full  page). 

XX.  How  Queen  Guenever  made  her  a  nun  (full  page). 

In  the  two  volumes  there  are  altogether  548 
ornaments,  chapter-headings,  borders,  initials, 
tail-pieces,  etc. ;  but  some  of  them  are  repeti- 
tions of  the  same  design,  others  reproductions 
of  the  same  design  in  two  different  sizes. 
(Two  of  these  are  in  the  Victoria  and  Albert 
Museum.  Eight  belong  to  Pickford  Waller, 
Esq.  Others  are  the  property  of  Hon.  Gerald 
Ponsonby,  R.  C.  Greenleaf,  Esq.,  W.  H. 
Jessop,  Esq.,  M.  H.  Sands,  Esq.,  Robert  Ross, 
Esq.,  and  Messrs  Carfax  &  Co.) 

XXI.  Chapter-heading,  a  dragon,  with  conventional  foli- 

age spray  branching  into  marginal  ornaments ; 
printed,  but  not  published  in  the  book. 

XXII.  Initial  letter  J  with  guardian  griffins ;  pen-and-ink, 

Sh  X  3|  inches. 

XXIII.  Unfinished    border    design,     first     published    in 

"  Whistler's  Art  Dicta  and  Other  Essays  "  by 
A,  E.  Gallatin  (Boston,  U.S.A.,  and  London, 
1903).      (Property  of  A.  E.  Gallatin,  Esq.) 

XXIV.  Original     study,     approved     by     the     publisher, 

for  wrappers  of  serial  issue  of  the  "  Morte 
Darthur,"    yellowish    green    water-colour    on 

79 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


white   paper,   lo^  x  8 J  inches.     This  design, 
comprising   lilies,  differs  from  that  which  was 
finally   produced    by  the    artist   and    published 
(next  item).     (Property  of  Aymer  Vallance, 
Esq.)      1893. 
Design  for  wrappers  of  serial  issue,  in  black  on  grey 
paper,  in  two  states,  the  earlier   or  trial-state, 
having  blank  spaces  for  the  lettering,  only  the 
title  being  given  as  "  La  Mort  Darthure." 
XXV.  Design   in   gold   on   cream-white   cloth    cases    of 
the  bound  volumes. 
Nineteen  of  the  above  designs  were  republished  in 
"  A  Book  of  Fifty  Drawings,"  and  again   in 
"  Later  Work,"  including  full-size  reproductions 
of  the  following,  which   had  suffered  through 
excessive   reduction    in   the  published  **Morte 
Darthur." 
XXVI.  Merlin    (in   a   circle),   facing  list  of  illustrations 
in    Vol.    L       The    same    reproduced    in    The 
Idler,   March    1897. 
XXVII.  Vignette  of  Book  L,  chapter  xiv.      Landscape 
with  piper  in  a  meadow  and  another  figure  in 
the  sky, 
XXVIII.   Vignette  of  Book  II L,  chapter  iii.      Three  swans 
swimming. 
XXIX.  Vignette  of  Book  V.,  chapter  x.     Nude  woman 
rising    out    of  the   sea,    holding    in    one    hand 
a  sword,  in  the  other  a  rose. 

60.  Pall  Mall  Magazine,  June  1893. 

I.  Of  a  Neophyte,  and  how  the  Black  Art  was  re- 
vealed unto  him  by  the  Fiend  Asomuel.     Full- 

80 


Aubrey   Beardsley 


page  illustration  in  pen  and  ink.  Asomuel,  mean- 
ing insomnia,  was  a  neologism  of  the  artist's  own 
devising,  made  up  of  the  Greek  alpha  privative, 
the  Latin  somnus^  and  the  Hebrew  ely  for 
termination  analogous  to  that  of  other  spirits' 
names,  such  as  Gabriel,  Raphael,  Azrael,  etc., 
reproduced  in  "Early  Work,"  July  1893. 
II.  The  Kiss  of  Judas.  Full-page  illustration  in  pen- 
and-ink.     Reproduced  in  "  Early  Work." 

61.  La  Comedie  aux  Enfers,  pen  and  ink,  published  in 
"Modern  Illustration,"  by  Joseph  Pennell,  (G. 
Bell  &  Sons,  1895.)      Imp.  i6mo.      1893. 

62.  I.  Evelina,  by    Frances    Burney.      (Dent  &   Co., 

1894.)     Design  in  outline  for  title-page. 

II.  Evelina  and  her  Guardian,  design  for  illustration, 

pen  and  ink  and  wash,  6|  x  4^   (exclusive  of 
marginal  lines),  not  published. 

III.  Another  illustration  for  the  same, "Love  for  Love," 

a  wash  drawing,  7^  x  5^,  unpublished.      1893. 

63.  Virgilius  the  Sorcerer.  David  Nutt,  1893.  Frontis- 
piece to  the  large  paper  copies  only.  Reproduced  in 
«  Early  Work." 

64.  The  Landslip,  frontispiece  to  "  Pastor  Sang,"  being 
William  Wilion's  translation  of  Bjornson's  drama, 
"Over  jEvne."  Longmans  &  Co.,  1893.  A  black 
and  white  design,  in  conscious  imitation  of  Albert 
Diirer,  as  the  peculiar  form  of  the  signature  A.  B. 
shows,  the  only  occasion  on  which  the  artist  employed 
this  device.  Reproduced  in  "  Early  Work."  (Pro- 
perty of  Messrs  Shirley  &  Co.,  Paris.) 

F  81 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


65.  Bon  Mots.     3  Volumes.     Dent  &  Co.,   1893. 
I.  Title-page  reproduced  in  "  Later  Work." 

II.  Figure  with  fool's  bauble,  and  another  small  orna- 

ment for  the  cover. 

III.  208  grotesques  and  other  ornaments  in  the  three 

volumes.  Some  of  these,  however,  are  repeated, 
and  some  printed  in  different  sizes.  Three  of 
them  reproduced  in  "  Later  Work."  In  an 
article  by  Max  Beerbohm  in  the  Idler,  May 
1898,  accompanied  by  **some  drawings  that 
have  never  before  been  reproduced,"  are  nine 
small  vignettes  of  the  "  Bon  Mots "  type,  of 
which  number  three  only  are  explicitly  ascribed 
to  "Bon  Mots."  (A  sheet  of  them  belongs 
to  W.  H.  Jessop,  Esq.  Nineteen  are  the 
property  of  Pickford  Waller,  Esq. ) 

66.  Folly,  intended  for  "Bon  Mots,"  but  not  used  in  the 
book.  The  figure  is  walking  along  a  branch  of  haw- 
thorn, the  left  hand  upraised,  and  holding  the  fool's 
baton ;  a  flight  of  butterflies  in  lower  left-hand  corner  ; 
with  drawing  8  x  5 J  inches.  (Property  of  Littleton 
Hay,  Esq.) 

67.  Pagan  Papers,  a  volume  of  Essays  by  Kenneth  Grahame. 

Elkin  Mathews  and  John  Lane,   1893.     Title-page, 
design  for. 

68.  Ada  Lundberg,  head  and  shoulders  to  right,  coloured 

crayons  on  brown  paper.      Reproduced  in  colour  in 
"Later  Work."     (Property  of  Julian  Sampson,  Esq.)' 

69.  Keynotes  Series  of   Novels  and  Short  Stories. — 

(The  publication  of  this  series  was  begun  by  Messrs 

82 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


Elkin  Mathews  and  John  Lane,  and  afterwards  con- 
tinued by  Mr  John  Lane  alone.) 

I.  Keynotes  by  George  Egerton,  1893.  Title-page 
design  (the  same  employed  for  the  cloth  cover). 
Ornamental  key,  embodying  the  author's  mono- 
gram, on  back  of  "  Contents  "  page  (the  same 
device  on  the  back  of  the  book).  This  plan 
was  adopted  for  each  volume  of  the  series. 

II.  The  Dancing  Faun,  by  Florence  Farr  (the  Faun 

in  the  design  has  the  eyeglass  and  features  of 
J.  McNeill  Whistler). 

III.  Poor    Folk.      Translated   from    the    Russian    of 

F.  Dostoievsky,  by  Lena  Milman. 

IV.  A  Child  of  the  Age,  by  Francis  Adams. 

V.  The  Great  God  Pan  and  the  Inmost  Light,  by 
Arthur  Machen,  also  unfinished  sketch  in  pencil 
upon  the  back  of  the  finished  design. 

VI.  Discords,  by  George  Egerton. 

VII.  Prince  Zaleski,  by  M.  P.  Shiel. 

VIII.  The  Woman  who  Did,  by  Grant  Allen. 
IX.  Women's  Tragedies,  by  H.  D.  Lowry,  1895. 
X.  Grey  Roses,  by  Henry  Harland. 

XI.  At    the    First    Corner,    and    other    Stories,    by 

H.  B.  Marriott  Watson. 

XII.  Monochromes,  by  Ella  D'Arcy. 

XIII.  At  the  Relton  Arms,  by  Evelyn  Sharp. 

XIV.  The  Girl  from  the  Farm,  by  Gertrude  Dix. 
XV.   The  Mirror  of  Music,  by  Stanley  V.  Makower. 

XVI.  Yellow  and  White,  by  W.  Carhon  Dawe. 

XVII.  The  Mountain  Lovers,  by  Fiona  Macleod. 

XVIII.  The  Woman  who  Didn't,  by  Victoria  Crosse. 
XIX.  Nobody's  Fault,  by  Netta  Syrett, 

83 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


XX.  The  Three  Impostors,  by  Arthur  Machen. 

XXI.  The    British     Barbarians,    a    hill-top    novel,    by 

Grant  Allen. 
XXII.  Platonic  Affections,  by  John  Smith. 

Design  for  wrapper  of  "  Keynotes  "  series.     John 

Lane,  1896. 
(With  the  exception  of  No.  2  all  the  above  Keynotes 
designs  are  the  property  of  John  Lane,  Esq.) 

70.  The  Barbarous  Britishers,  a  tip-top  novel,  by  H.  D. 

Traill.  Title-page  design  (the  same  employed  for  the 
cloth  cover),  comprising  a  portrait  of  Miss  Ada  Lund- 
berg,  the  whole  being  a  parody  of  the  design  for  "  The 
British  Barbarians,"  vide  supra,  John  Lane,  1896. 
(Property  of  John  Lane,  Esq.)  Reproduced  in  "  Early 
Work." 

7 1 .  Three  Headpieces,  two  of  which  appeared  in  St  Paul's, 
April  2nd,  1898,  the  other  in  the  same  paper,  April 
9th,  1898.  All  three  republished  in  "Early  Work." 
(Property  of  Henry  Reichardt,  Esq.)      1893-4. 

72.  Women    regarding   a   Dead   Mouse.     Three-quarter 

figure  in  leaden  grey.  Unfinished  painting  in  oils,  the 
only  experiment  the  artist  ever  made  in  this  medium ; 
influenced  by  Walter  Sickert.     c.  1894. 

73.  Menu  of  the  Tenth  Annual  Dinner  of  the  Play- 
goers' Club  in  London.  Two  drawings,  one  of  them 
only  reproduced  in  "  Early  Work."  January  28th, 
1894. 

74.  Lucian's  True  History.  Laurence  &  Bullen,  privately 
printed,  1894.     Black  and  white  illustrations  to 

I.  A   Snare  of  Vintage.       Reproduced  in   "  Later 
Work." 

84 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


Another  drawing  of  the  same  subject  and  title,  but 
different  rendering,  6  x  4J  inches,  was  inserted  loose  in 
large  paper  copies  only  ;  not  noted  in  "  Contents "  page 
of  the  book. 
II.  Dreams.     Reproduced  in  "  Later  Work."     This 
drawing  was  executed    obviously  at  the  same 
period  as  "Siegfried"  and  "The    Achieving 
of  the  Sangreal." 
III.,  IV.  Two  more  drawings,  intended  for  the  same  work, 
but  not  included  in  it.     Twenty  copies  of  each 
were  printed  privately.      One  of  them  is  un- 
published ;  of  the  other,  the  upper  portion  was 
published  in  "  Later  Work."     These  illustra- 
tions were  the  earliest  of  the  Artist's  designs 
not  intended  for  public  circulation. 

Lucian's  True  History,  translated  by  Francis 
Hickes,  illustrated  by  William  Strang,  J.  B.  Clark,  and 
Aubrey  Beardsley,  with  an  Introduction  by  Charles 
Whibley,was  published  by  A.  H.  Bullen.   London,  1902. 

75.  QuiLp's  Baron  Verdigris.  Black  and  white.  Designed 
for  Messrs  Henry  &  Co.  First  published  in  "  Second 
Book  "  and  again  in  "  Later  Work."      1894. 

76.  Poster  for  "  The  Comedy  of  Sighs,"  by  Dr  John 
Todhunter,  at  the  Avenue  Theatre,  March  29th,  1894. 
Three-quarter  length  figure  of  woman  in  deep  blue, 
standing  behind  a  gauze  curtain  with  light  green  round 
spots  powdered  over  it,  28|  x  4I  inches.  The  same 
has  since  been  printed,  the  original  size,  in  black  and 
white.  The  same  reduced,  and  printed  in  blue  on 
light  green  paper  for  the  programme  sold  in  the  theatre  : 

85 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


also  printed  in  black  on  toned  paper  for  the  programme 
of  Mr  G.  Bernard  Shaw's  play,  "Arms  and  the  Man," 
April  2 1  St,  1894.  Also  still  further  reduced,  in  black 
on  pale  mauve-pink  paper  for  the  wrapper  of  Mr 
W.  B.  Yeats's  play,  "The  Land  of  Hearts'  Desire." 
Reproduced  in  Idler  magazine,  March  1897  ;  again  in 
"  Fifty  Drawings,"  also  in  "  Later  Work."  This  was 
Aubrey  Beardsley's  first  poster  design.       1894. 

77.  Poster  for  Mr  Fisher  Unwin's  "Pseudonym 
Library."  Female  figure  in  salmon-pink  dress  stand- 
ing on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road  to  a  second-hand 
book-store.  The  scheme  of  colouring — salmon-pink, 
orange,  green,  and  black  —  was  suggested  to  Aubrey 
Beardsley  by  a  French  poster.     29 J  x  13  inches. 

The  same  reduced,  in  colours,  to  form  an  advertise- 
ment slip  for  insertion  in  books  and  magazines. 

The  same  reduced,  printed  in  black,  6  copies  only, 
on  Japanese  vellum.  Reproduced  in  "  Fifty  Draw- 
ings "  and  "  Later  Work."  Also  used  as  cover-design 
for  the  "  Dream  and  the  Business,"  by  John  Oliver 
Hobbes. 

Similar  motif,  black  and  white  drawing  ;  exhibited 
at  the  New  English  Art  Club  Exhibition  at  the  New 
Gallery.      (Property  of  T.  Fisher  Unwin,  Esq.) 

78.  Poster  for  Mr  Fisher  Unwin's  Children's  Books. 
Woman  reading  while  seated  in  a  groaning-chair  ;  black 
and  purple.  Reproduced  in  black  in  "  Fifty  Draw- 
ings "  and  "  Later  Work." 

79.  Poster  Design.     A  lady   and  large  sunflower,  scheme 

of  colouring  purple  and  yellow.     Unpublished.     Pur- 

86 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


chased  by  Mr  Fisher  Unwin  and  destroyed  accidentally 
in  New  York. 

80.  Sketch  Portrait  of  the  Artist,  head  and  shoulders, 
three-quarter  face  to  left ;  in  imaginary  costume  with 
V-shaped  opening  to  his  coat  and  high-shouldered 
sleeves  ;  in  charcoal.  First  published  in  The  Sketchy 
April  14th,  1894,  again  in  "Early  Work." 

81.  Sketch  Portrait  of  Henry  Harland,  head  and 
shoulders,  three-quarter  face  to  right,  in  charcoal. 
First  published  in  The  Sketch,  April  nth,  1894,  again 
in  "  Early  Work."      (Property  of  John  Lane,  Esq.) 

82.  Portrait  of  James  M*Neill  Whistler.    (Property  of 

Walter  Sickert,  Esq.) 

83.  The    Fat   Woman   (a   caricature  of  Mrs  Whistler). 

First  published  in  To-Day,  May  12th,  1894,  afterwards 
republished  in  "  Fifty  Drawings  "  and  "  Later  Work  " ; 
also  in  Le  Courtier  Frangais,  November  iith,  1894, 
with  the  title  "  Une  Femme  bien  NourrieJ'^  (Formerly 
the  property  of  the  late  Mrs  Cyril  Martineau  (Miss  K. 
Savile  Clarke)). 

84.  Waiting,  a  haggard,  expectant  woman,  wearing 
V-necked  bodice  and  large  black  hat,  seated  in  a 
restaurant,  with  a  half-emptied  wine-glass  on  a  small 
round  table  before  her ;  black-ink  drawing,  7f  x  3  J 
inches,  unpublished.  (Property  of  Pickford  Waller, 
Esq.) 

85.  Masked    Pierrot    and    Female    Figure,    water    and 

gondolas  in  background,  small  square  in  black  and 
white,  published  in  To-Day,  May  i2th,  1894. 

87 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


86.  Salome,  A  tragedy  in  one  act.  Translated  by  Lord 
Alfred  Douglas  from  the  French  of  Oscar  Wilde. 
Elkin  Mathews  and  John  Lane,  1894.  Pictured  with 
the  following  designs  by  Aubrey  Beardsley : — 

I.  The   woman    (or    man)    in  the  moon   (Frontis- 

piece). 
Border  Design  for  Title-page  (two  states,  the  first 

cancelled).     Property  of  John  Lane,  Esq.) 
Border  Design  for  List  of  Pictures.      (Property 

of  John  Lane,  Esq.) 

II.  The  Peacock  Skirt.      (Property  of  John  Lane, 

Esq.) 

III.  The  Black  Cape.     A  burlesque,  substituted  for  a 

drawing  of  John  and  Salome,  which  was  printed 
but  withheld,  and  subsequently  published  in 
"Early  Work."  (Property  of  John  Lane, 
Esq.) 

IV.  A  Platonic  Lament.      (Property  of  John  Lane, 

Esq.) 

V.  Enter  Herodias  (two  states,  the  first  cancelled). 

(The  drawing  in  its  original  state  the  property 
of  Herbert  J.  Pollit  Esq.)  A  proof  of  this 
drawing  in  its  first  state,  now  the  property  of 
Frank  Harris,  Esq.,  is  inscribed  by  the  artist  on 
the  left-hand  top  corner  : 

**  Because  one  figure  was  undressed 
This  little  drawing  was  suppressed. 
It  was  unkind,  but  never  mind, 
Perhaps  it  all  was  for  the  best." 

VI.  The   Eyes  of  Herod.      (Note  one  of  Herod's 

white  peacocks.)  (Property  of  John  Lane, 
Esq.) 

88 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


VII.  The  Stomach  Dance.  (The  author  makes 
Salome  dance,  barefooted,  the  Dance  of  the 
Seven  Veils. )  (Property  of  John  Lane,  Esq. ) 
VIII.  The  Toilette  of  Salome.  Substituted  for  a 
former  drawing  of  the  same  subject,  printed  in 
two  states  but  withheld,  the  second  state  subse- 
quently published  in  "  Early  Work  "  (Property 
of  Robert  Ross,  Esq.) 

IX.  The  Dancer's  Reward.  (Property  of  John  Lane, 
Esq.) 

X.  The    Climax.       This    is    a    revised   and    simpler 

version  of  the  design  which  had  appeared  in  the 

first  number  of  The  Studio, 
Tailpiece.     The  corpse  of  Salome  being  coffined 

in    a   puiF-powder    box.       (Property   of  John 

Lane,  Esq.) 
Nos.   I.,  IV.,   v.,  and    vi.    of  the   above    contain 

caricatures  of  Oscar  Wilde. 

XI.  Small  design,  printed  in  gold  on  cloth,  front  cover 

of  ** Salome";  another,  consisting  of  an  elabora- 
tion of  the  artist's  device,  for  the  under  side  of 
cover. 
XII.  Study  of  a  design  of  peacock  feathers  for  cover  of 
"  Salome,"  not  used  at  the  time,  but  sub- 
sequently reproduced  for  the  first  time  in 
facsimile  in  "  Early  Work,"  and  again  as  an 
illustration  following  the  title-page  in  reissue 
of  "  Salome  "  (John  Lane,  1907)  ;  also  in  gold 
on  light  green  cloth  for  ornament  of  the  binding, 
and  in  olive  green  on  orange-red  for  the  paper 
cap.  Also  in  gold  on  blue  cloth  for  binding 
of  "Under    the  Hill,"    1904.     (Property  of 

89 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


John  Lane,  Esq.)  This  (1907)  edition,  more- 
over, contains  the  two  illustrations  suppressed 
in  the  original  edition,  viz.,  "  John  and  Salome  " 
(Property  of  John  Lane,  Esq.),  now  placed 
in  order  as  No.  8,  and  "  The  Toilet  of  Salome, 
IL,"  now  placed  as  No.  13  (Property  of 
John  Lane,  Esq.)  and  an  original  title-page. 
XIII.  The  Salome  drawings  were  reproduced  the  actual 
size  of  the  originals  and  published  in  a  portfolio. 
In  this  was  included  a  design  of  Salome  seated 
upon  a  settee.  Described  in  "  Early  Work  "  as 
"  Maitressed'Orchestre."    (John  Lane,  1907.) 

87.  Dancer  WITH  Domino.     (The  property  of  His  Honour 
Judge  Evans.) 

88.  Plays,  by  John  Davidson.     Elkin  Mathews   and  John 

Lane,  1894.  Design  on  frontispiece  to,  containing 
portrait  caricatures  of  Sir  Augustus  Harris,  and 
Oscar  Wilde  and  Henry  Harland,  black  and  white  ; 
the  same  design  in  gold  on  the  cloth  cover.  Re- 
produced in  "  Early  Work,''  and  again,  with  Aubrey 
Beardsley's  letter  to  the  Daily  Chronicle  on  the  subject, 
in  "Under  the  Hill,"  1904.  (Property  of  John 
Lane,  Esq.) 

Design  for  Title-Page  of  the  above-named.  Black 
and  white  ;  reproduced  in  "  Early  Work." 

89.  The  Yellow  Book,   1894  and  1895. 

I.  Design  for  prospectus  of  the  "  Yellow  Book  "  :  a 
woman  examining  books  in  a  box  at  a  bookstall ; 
black  on  yellow  paper.  Elkin  Mathews  and 
John  Lane,  1894.  (Property  of  John  Lane, 
Esq.) 

90 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


Vol.  I.,  April  1894.     Elkin  Mathews  and  John 
Lane. 
II.  Design  on  front  side  of  yellow  cover.     (Property 
of  John  Lane,  Esq.) 

III.  Design  on  under  side  of  cover  ;  the  same  repeated 

in  the  later  volumes.  (Property  of  John  Lane, 
Esq.) 

IV.  Design  on  title-page:  a  woman'playing  a  piano  in  a 

meadow.  Reproduced,  with  Aubrey  Beardsley's 
letter  on  the  subject,  to  the  Pall  Mall  Budget^ 
in  "Under  the  Hill"  (1904).  (Property  of 
John  Lane,  Esq.) 

V.  L' Education  Sentimentale :  in  line  and  wash. 
VI.  Night  Piece. 

VII.  Portrait  of  Mrs  Patrick  Campbell  in  profile,  to  left 

in  outline.  Formerly  in  possession  of  Oscar 
Wilde,  now  in  National  Gallery  at  Berlin. 

VIII.  Bookplate  (designed  in  1893)  ^^^  -^o^*"  Lumsden 

Propert,  Esq. 
Vol.  IL,  July  1894.     Elkin  Mathews  and  John 
Lane. 

IX.  Design  on  front  side  of  cover.     (Property  of  John 

Lane,  Esq.) 

X.  Design  on  title-page. 

XI.  The  Comedy-Ballet  of  Marionettes.  Three  designs, 

XII.   Gar^ons  de  Cafe.    (Property  of  A.  W.  King,  Esq.) 

XIII.  The  Slippers  of  Cinderella.    The  artist  subsequently 

coloured    the    original   with   scarlet  and   green, 

in  which  state  it  is  unpublished.      (Property  of 

Brandon  Thomas,  Esq.) 

91 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


XIV.  Portrait  of  Madame  Rejane,  full-length  profile  to 
left,  in  outline.  (Property  of  Frederick  H. 
Evans,    Esq.) 

Volume  III.,  October  1894.     John  Lane. 

XV.  Design  on  front  side  of  cover.  (Property  of  John 
Lane,  Esq.) 

XVI.  Design  on  title-page, 

XVII.  Portrait  of  Mantegna.     Published,  for  a  practical 

joke,  in  the  name  of  Philip  Broughton.  (Pro- 
perty of  G.  Bernard  Shaw,  Esq.) 

XVIII.  Portrait  of  the  artist ;  fancy  portrait  of  himself  in 
bed.     (Property  of  John  Lane,  Esq.) 

XIX.  Lady    Gold's    Escort.      (Property   of    Brandon 

Thomas,  Esq.) 

XX.  The  Wagnerites  at  the  performance  of  <*  Tristan 

und  Isolde."  Reproduced,  on  large  scale,  in  Le 
Courrier  Frangaisj  December  23  rd,  1894,  with 
the  title  "  Wagneriens  et  Wagneriennes." 

XXI.  La  Dame  aux  Camelias.     Reprinted  in  St  PauVsy 

April  2nd,  1894,  with  the  title  "Girl  at  her 
Toilet."  (Formerly  the  property  of  the  late 
Miss  K.  Savile  Clarke  [Mrs  Cyril  Martineau].) 

XXII.  From  a  pastel ;  half-length  study  of  a  woman  in 

white  cap,  facing  to  left.  (Published,  for  a 
practical  joke,  in  the  name  of  Albert  Foschter.) 

Volume  IV.,  January  1895.     John  Lane. 

XXIII.  Design  on  front  side  of  cover. 

XXIV.  Design  on  title-page. 

92 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


XXV.  The  Mysterious  Rose  Garden,  burlesque  Annun- 

ciation.     (Property  of  John  Lane,  Esq.) 

XXVI.  The  Repentance  of  Mrs .      (The  kneeling 

figure  is  a  reminiscence  of  the  principal  one  in 
"The  Litany  of  Mary  Magdalen.") 

XXVII.  Portrait  of  Miss  Winifred  Emery  (outline). 
(Property  of  Mrs  Cyril  Maude.) 

XXVIII.  Frontispiece  for  Juvenal.  Double-page  supple- 
ment. 

XXIX.  Design  for  "Yellow  Book"  Cover,  not  used. 
First  published  in  "  Early  Work."  (Property 
of  John  Lane,  Esq.) 

XXX.  Show-card  to  advertise  "  The  Yellow  Book " ; 
female  figure  standing,  her  hat  hanging  from 
her  right  hand,  and  daffodils  growing  at  her 
feet.  Dark  green  on  light  yellow  paper. 
Reproduced  in  black-and-white  in  "  Early 
Work."      (The  property  of  John  Lane,  Esq.) 

90.  Portrait  of  R^jane  wearing  a  broad-brimmed  hat 
with  dark  bow  in  front,  head  and  shoulders,  full  face 
slightly  to  left,  wash  drawing.  Reproduced  by  Swan 
Electric  Engraving  Company  for  the  "  Yellow  Book," 
but  not  used.     Unpublished. 

91.  RijANE,  black-and-white  design  of  the  actress  standing, 
half  length,  fan  in  hand,  against  a  white  curtain  with 
conspicuous  tassel.  First  published  in  "  Second  Book," 
and  again,  in  a  reduced  state,  as  "  Title-page  ornament, 
hitherto  unpublished  "  in  "  Early  Work."      1893-4. 

93 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


92.  Madame  Rejane,  full-length  portrait  sketch,  ink  and 
wash.  First  published  in  "  Second  Book,"  again  in 
"  Later  Work." 

93.  Madame  Rejane,  profile  to  left;  sitting,  legs  ex- 
tended, on  a  sofa,  ink  and  wash.  First  pubUshed 
in  "  Pen  Drawing  and  Pen  Draughtsmen,"  by 
Joseph  Pennell  (Macmillan,  1894),  again  in  *' Fifty 
Drawings,"  and  in  the  Idler  Magazine,  March  1897. 

94.  Rejane,  portrait  head  in  profile  to  left,  in  red  crayon 
and  black  ink,  7^^  x  6  inches.  First  published  in 
facsimile  in  The  Studio^  May  1898,  again  in  "Later 
Work."  (Property  of  Frederick  H.  Evans,  Esq.) 
1894. 

95.  A  Poster  Design.     Back  view  of  a  woman,  her  face  in 

profile  to  right,  holding  a  pigmy  in  her  right  hand. 
First  published  in  "  Early  Work."  (Property  of 
John  Lane,  Esq.) 

96.  A  Poster  Design  (Singer).    Woman  seated  at  a  piano. 

First  reproduced  in  The  Poster,  October  1898, 
again  in  "Second  Book"  and  in  "Later  Work." 

97.  Lady  to  right  gazing  at  a  Hat  on  a  Milliner's 
Bonnet  Stand,  headpiece  for  the  "  Idlers'  Club " 
section  in  the  Idler  Magazine,   1894. 

98.  Pierrot  and  Black  Cat,  small  square  in  black-and- 

white  for  a  book  ornament. 

99.  Head  and  Shoulders  of  a  Chinese  Priest,  together 
with  the  Head  of  a  Satyr.  25  copies  only  printed  on 
folio  sheet,  and  10  copies  only  in  red.     It  is  not  known 

94 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


for    what    they    were   intended.     Published    by  James 
Tregaskis,  Caxton  Head. 

lOO  Le8  Passades,  night  scene,  in  pen-and-ink  with  ink 
wash,  10x5  iiiches.  First  published  in  To-Day ^ 
November  17,  1894,  again  in  the  Idler  Magazine, 
March  1897. 

10 1.  Venus  between  Terminal  Gods.  Frontispiece  for  a 
version  of  the  Tannhauser  legend,  to  be  published  by 
Messrs  H.  Henry  &  Co.  Ltd.,  a  project  never  completed. 
Design  in  black-and-white,  showing,  especially  in  the 
treatment  of  flying  dove  and  of  the  background  of  rose- 
trellis,  the  influence  of  Charles  Ricketts  or  Laurence 
Housman.  Reproduced  in  "  Second  Book,"  and  again 
in  "Later  Work."     Circa  1894-5. 

102.  Frontispiece  AND  Title-page,  together  forming  one  com- 
plete design,  for  "  The  Story  of  Venus  and  Tannhauser," 
to  be  published  by  John  Lane,  but  never  completed.  (  Cf. 
"  Under  the  Hill "  in  The  Savoy ^  1 896. )  Reproduced 
in  "  Early  Work."  Dated  1895.  (Property  of  John 
Lane,  Esq.) 

103.  The  Return  of  Tannhauser  to  Venusberg.  A  design 
originally  intended  for  the  above-named  book.  Sub- 
sequently presented  by  the  artist  to  J.  M.  Dent,  Esq. 
First  published,  in  illustration  of  an  article  by  Max 
Beerbohm,  in  the  Idler  Magazine  for  May  1898,  and 
again,  in  larger  format  and,  as  the  initials  in  left  hand 
corner  show,  reversed,  in  "  Second  Book  "  and  again 
in  <*  Later  Work."  The  Idler  version  has  a  slight 
effect  of  half-tone  in  the  brambles  in  the  foreground, 
but  the  "  Later  Work  "  reproduction  is  pure  black-and- 
white  contrast. 

95 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


104.  Venus.  Design  for  title-page,  In  black-and-white.  First 
published  in  The  Studio,  1898,  and  afterwards  in  "  Early 
Work/'  March  2,  1899,  where  it  is  described  as 
"  hitherto  unpublished."  (The  property  of  John  Lane, 
Esq.) 

105.  Design  for  Cover  of  "The  Cambridge  A,  B,  C." 
Reproduced  in  "  Early  Work." 

106.  Pierrot  as  Caddie,  Golf  Club  Card,  designed  for  the 
opening  of  The  Prince's  Ladies'  Golf  Club,  Mitcham, 
pen-and-ink.  Published  in  "Early  Work."  (For- 
merly the  property  of  Mrs  Falconer- Stuart,  now  of 
R.  Hippesley  Cox,  Esq.)     Dated  1894. 

107.  A  Poster  Design  ;  two  female  figures  drawn  in  black- 
and-white  for  Mr  William  Heinemann.  Reproduced 
in  "  Early  Work." 

108.  The  London  Garland,  published  by  the  Society  of 
Illustrators,  1895.  A  pen-and-ink  drawing  of  a  female 
figure  in  very  elaborated  dress  reaching  from  her  neck 
to  the  ground,  intended  to  represent  a  ballet-dancer 
with  a  costume  as  prescribed  by  Mrs  Grundy.  The 
original  drawing,  unfinished,  contains  another  figure,  not 
reproduced,  on  the  left.  The  original  title  for  this 
drawing  was  "At  a  Distance."  Reproduced  in 
**  Second  Book."      (Property  of  Joseph  Pennell,  Esq.) 

109.  Autumn.  Design  in  black-and-white  for  a  calendar 
to  be  published  by  William  Heinemann.  Reproduced 
in  "  Early  Work." 

1 10.  Tales  of  Mystery  and  Wonder,  by  Edgar  Allen  Poe 

96 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


(Stone   &    Kimball,   Chicago,  U.S.A.,    1895);     four 
designs  in  pen-and-ink  for  large  paper  edition  of — 

I.  The  Murders  in  the  Rue  Morgue. 

II,   The  Black  Cat. 

III.  The  Masque  of  the  Red  Death.      First  published 

in  the   <*  Chap   Book"    (Chicago),   Aug.    15, 
1894,  again  in  same,  April  i,  1898. 

IV.  The  Fall  of  the  House  of  Usher. 

111.  Outline  Portrait  of  the  Artist  in  profile  to  left; 
in  imaginary  costume,  with  a  lace  ruff  to  the  neck,  and 
earrings  in  the  ears.  Published  in  **  Posters  in  Minia- 
ture," and  again  in  "  Early  Work."  A  half-tone  block 
from  variant  of  the  same,  the  earring  as  well  as  the 
button  on  lappel  and  waist  of  coat  more  pronounced, 
was  published  in  The  Hour,  March  27,  1895,  ^"^ 
reproduced  in  Magazine  of  Art ^  November  1896. 

112.  A  Child  Standing  by  its  Mother's  Bed,  black-and- 
white,  chiefly  outline.  First  published  in  The  Sketch,  April 
10,1895.  Reproduced  in  "  Early  Work."  Formerly 
in  the  possession  of  Max  Beerbohm,  Esq.,  but  since  lost. 

113.  The  Scarlet  Pastorale,  pen-and-ink.  First  published 
in  The  Sketch,  April  10,  1895.  Also  printed  in  scarlet 
on  white.      Reproduced  in  **  Fifty  Drawings." 

1 1 4.  Portrait  of  Miss  Ethel  Devereux,  pencil  drawing. 
(Property  of  Mrs  Roy  Devereux.)     Circa  1895. 

115.  Design  for  an  Invitation  Card,  ink  outline;  seated 
Pierrot  smoking,  a  copy  of  the  "  Yellow  Book,"  Vol. 
IV.,  on  the  couch  at  his  side.  Drawn  for  Mr  John 
Lane's  Sette  of  Odd  Volumes  Smoke.  Reproduced 
in  The  Studio,  September  1895.  (Property  of  John 
Lane,  Esq.) 

G  97 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


1 1 6.  Three  Decorative  Designs  from  the  brown  paper 
cover  of  Aubrey  Beardsley's  own  copy  of  "  Tristan  und 
Isolde."  Two  reproduced  in  '*  Later  Work."  (Pro- 
perty of  Frederick  H.  Evans,  Esq.) 

11 7.  Max  Alvary  as  **  Tristan"  in  Wagner's  opera 
**  Tristan  und  Isolde,"  half-length  profile  to  left,  pen- 
and-ink  and  wash  with  unusual  monogram  signature. 
10  X  5J  inches.  First  published  in  "  Aubrey  Beardsley's 
Drawings,  a  catalogue  and  a  list  of  criticisms,"  by 
A.  E.  Gallatin  (New  York,  1903).  (Formerly  the 
property  of  Rev.  G.  H.  Palmer,  now  of  A.  E. 
Gallatin,  Esq.) 

118.  Frau  Klafsky  as  "Isolde"  in  above-named  opera, 
pen-and-ink  and  pale  green  water-colour,  13x4!  inches. 
First  published  in  the  Critic  (New  York),  December, 
1902.  (Formerly  the  property  of  Rev.  G.  H.  Palmer, 
now  of  A.  E.  Gallatin,  Esq.) 

119.  Isolde  ;  autolithograph  in  scarlet,  grey,  green,  and  black 
on  white  ;  supplement  to  T^e  Studio,  October  1895. 

120.  Woman  reclining  in  a  Meadow  by  the  Border  of  a 
Lake,  listening  to  a  Faun  reading  out  of  a  Book 
TO  Her.  Oblong  design  in  ink  on  white  ;  a  variant  of 
the  design  for  wrapper  of  Leonard  Smithers'  Catalogue, 
No.  3.  First  published  in  T/je  Studio,  May  1898, 
again  in  "Early  Work,"  where  it  is  described  as 
** hitherto  unpublished."  (Property  of  John  Lane, 
Esq.)      1895. 

121.  Design  FOR  Wrapper  of  "Catalogue  of  Rare 
Books,"  No.  3.  (Leonard  Smithers,  September  1895.) 
The  same  figures  as  in  the  last-named,  but  the  landscape 

98 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


has  an  urn  and  additional  trees  to  adapt  the  design  to 
upright  shape.     Black  on  pale  blue-green  paper. 

122.  Chopin  Ballade  III.,  illustration  for.  Woman  rider, 
mounted  on  a  prancing  white  horse  to  left.  Wash 
drawing.  First  published  in  The  Studioy  May  1898, 
in  half  tones  of  grey,  with  deep  purplish  black ;  again 
in  "Second  Book."  (Property  of  Charles  Holme, 
Esq.)      1895. 

123.  Chopin's  Nocturnes,  frontispiece  to.  Pen-and-ink  and 
wash.  First  published  in  "Early  Work."  (Pro- 
perty of  John  Lane,  Esq.) 

124.  Earl  Lavender,  by  John  Davidson  (Ward  &  Downey, 
1895),  design  for  frontispiece  to.  Woman  scourging  a 
kneeling,  barebacked  figure.  Pen-and-ink  outline.  Re- 
produced in  "  Early  Work."  (Property  of  John  Lane, 
Esq.) 

125.  Young  Ofeg's  Ditties,  by  George  Egerton  (John 
Lane,  1895),  title-page  and  cover  design  for. 

1 26.  Messalina,  with  another  woman  on  her  left,  black-and- 
white,  with  black  background.  First  published  in 
"  Second  Book,"  again  in  "  Early  Work,"  where  it 
is  described  as  "hitherto  unpublished."      1895. 

127.  Title-page  Ornament,  standing  nude  figure  playing 
double-bass,  black  background.  First  published  in 
"  Early  Work." 

128.  Portrait  of  Miss  Letty  Lind  in  "The  Artist's 
Model."  Pen-and-ink  outline.  Published  in  **  Early 
Work."      (Property  of  Miss  Letty  Lind.) 

99 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


129.  Atalanta  in  Calydon,  full-length  figure  to  right ;  pen- 
and-ink  and  wash.  First  published  in  "  Early  Work." 
(Property  of  John  Lane,  Esq.) 

130.  Cover  Design  for  Fairy  Tales  by  Count  Hamilton, 
to  be  published  by  Messrs  H.  Henry  &  Co.,  Ltd. 

131.  Balzac's  "  La  Comedie  Humaine,"  design  (head,  full 
face)  for  front  side  and  another  for  the  reverse  of  cover. 
Reproduced  in  "  Later  Work." 

132.  The  Brook  Trills  of  Pernicious  by  Richard  le  Philis- 
TiENNE,  title-page  to  burlesque,  that  of  "  The  Book  Bills 
of  Narcissus,"  by  Richard  le  Gallienne.  Unpublished. 
(Property  of  J.  M.  Dent,  Esq.) 

133.  A  Self-Portrait,  grotesque  outline  profile  to  left,  with 
diminutive  silk  hat,  from  the  fly-leaf  of  an  envelope  in 
the  possession  of  J.  M.  Dent,  Esq.      Unpublished. 

134.  The  Shaving  of  Shagpat,  by  George  Meredith,  small 
sketch  to  illustrate,  in  pen-and-ink,  contained  in  a  letter 
to  Frederick  H.  Evans,  Esq.      Unpublished. 

135.  An  Evil  Motherhood,  by  Walt  Ruding  (Elkin 
Mathews,  1896),  frontispiece  to.  Pen-and-ink.  Re- 
produced in  '*  Early  Work." 

136.  Caf6  Noir.  Another  design  for  the  frontispiece 
of  the  last-named  book,  pen-and-ink  and  wash ; 
bound  up  in  six  review  copies  only,  and  then  recalled. 
Reproduced  in  "  Early  Work."  (Property  of  M.  Jean 
Ruelle.) 

137.  Title-page,  an  architectonic  design.  First  published 
as  the  title  of  "Early  Work"  (John  Lane,  1899). 
(Property  of  John  Lane,  Esq.) 

100 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


138.  Ornamental  Title-page  FOR  "  The  Parade."  Messrs 
H.  Henry  &  Co.,  Ltd.,  1896.  Reproduced  in 
"Later  Work." 

139.  Tail-piece  to  Catalogue  of  Lord  Carnarvon's  Library, 
1896. 

140.  Sappho,  by  H.  T.  Wharton.  (John  Lane,  1896.) 
Design  for  cover  in  gold  on  blue.  Reproduced  in 
"Early  Work."      (Property  of  John  Lane,  Esq.) 

141.  Pierrot's  Library.  (John  Lane,  1896.)  Design  for 
title-page  of,  two  designs  for  end  papers,  printed  in  olive 
green ;  design  for  front  cover  and  vignette  for  reserve 
cover,  printed  in  gold  on  red  cloth.  Reproduced  in 
*<  Early  Work."     (Property  of  John  Lane,  Esq.) 

1 42.  Love  Enshrined  in  a  Heart  in  the  Shape  of  a  Mirror, 
pen-and-ink.  First  published  in  "  Aubrey  Beardsley  " 
by  Arthur  Symons.  (Sign  of  the  Unicorn,  1898.) 
(Property  of  Andre  RaiFalovich,  Esq.) 

143.  The  Lysistrata  OF  Aristophanes.  (Leonard  Smithers, 
privately  printed,  1896.)  Eight  pen-and-ink  designs 
to  illustrate — 

I.  Lysistrata. 

II.  The  Toilet  of  Lampito. 

III.  Lysistrata  haranguing  the  Athenian  Women. 

IV.  Lysistrata  defending  the  Acropolis. 

V.  Two  Athenian  Women  in  Distress. 

VI.  Cinesias  soliciting  Myrrhina. 

VII.   The  Examination  of  the  Herald, 
viii.  The  Lacedemonian  Ambassadors. 

An  expurgated  version  of  No.  3  was  published  in 
"  Second  Book,"  and  was  repeated  together  with 
101 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


expurgated  versions  or  fragments  from  the  re- 
mainder of  the  set  in  "  Later  Work." 

144.  The  Rape  of  the  Lock,  by  Alexander  Pope.  An  heroi- 
comical  poem  in  five  cantos,  "embroidered  with  nine 
drawings  by  Aubrey  Beardsley,"  410.  Leonard 
Smithers,  1896.  Now  published  by  John  Lane. 
(Property  of  Messrs  Keppel,  New  York.) 

I.  The  Dream. 

II.  The    Billet-Doux    (vignette).      Reproduced    in 

St    Paul's,    April    2,     1898.       (Property    of 
Mrs  Edmund  Davis. ) 

III.  The  Toilet. 

IV.  The  Baron's  Prayer. 
V.  The  Barge. 

VI.  The  Rape    of  the    Lock.       (The   property  of 

Messrs  Keppel,  New  York.) 
VII.  The  Cave  of  Spleen. 

VIII.  The  Battle  of  the  Beaux  and  the  Belles.      Re- 
produced in  the  Id/er,  March  1897. 
IX.  The  New  Star  (cul-de-lampe). 

Cover  design  for  the  original  edition. 
Cover  design  for  the  Bijou  edition.     (John  Lane. ) 
Reproduced  in  "  Later  Work." 

145.  Design  for  Wrapper  of  Catalogue  of  Rare  Books, 
No.  7.  (Leonard  Smithers,  1896.)  A  lady  seated 
on  a  striped  settee  reading ;  a  parrot  on  stand  on  the 
right.  Black  on  leaden-grey  paper.  Reproduced  in 
"Second  Book,"   1896,  and  "  Later  Work." 

146.  The  Prospectus  of  The  Savoy.    Design  for. 

I.  A  burlesque  Cupid  on  a  stage  with  footlights,  one 
hand  holding  a  copy  of  the   book,  whence  it 
I02 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


appears  that  the  original  intention  was  to  produce 
the  first  number  in  December  1895.  Repro- 
duced in  "  Later  Work."  Latter  part  of 
1895.      (Property  of  John  Lane,  Esq.) 

A   suppressed   variant  of  the  above,  same  motif 
reversed,  only  with  John   Bull  substituted  for 
the  Cupid.     Reproduced  in  "  Later  Work." 

Initial  letter  A  in  the  above  Prospectus.  Repro- 
duced in  "  Later  Work." 

Publisher's  Trade-mark  for  Leonard  Smithers. 
First  published  in  "  Savoy  "  Prospectus.  The 
same,  name  omitted,  appears  in  "  Later  Work  " 
with  the  title  of  *«  Siegfried,"  1895. 

The  Savoy,  No.  i,  January  1896,    (Leonard 
Smithers.) 

Cover  design,  in  two  states.  The  original  was 
suppressed  because  it  depicted  too  realistically 
the  contempt  of  the  child  in  the  foreground  for 
the  "  Yellow  Book,"  with  which  the  artist  had 
recently  ceased  to  be  connected.  The  revised 
version  was  republished  in  "  Fifty  Drawings,'* 
and  again  in  "  Later  Work."  (Property  of 
Mrs  George  Bealby  Wright. ) 

Title-page.  Repeated  as  title-page  in  No.  2,  and 
republished  in  *<  Later  Work." 

Drawing  to  face  Contents.  Caricature  of  John 
Bull.     Republished  in  "  Later  Work." 

The  Three  Musicians.  Illustration  of  the  artist's 
poem,  same  title.  Republished  in  *«  Fifty 
Drawings  "  and  "  Later  Work." 

,  Another  drawing  to  illustrate  the  above,  but  with- 

103 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


held.  It  appeared  for  the  first  time  in  "  A  Book 
of  Fifty  Drawings,"  1897.  Republished  in 
"  Later  Work  "  and  "  Under  the  Hill." 

X,  Tailpiece  to  the  above.     Republished  in  **  Later 
Work  "  and  "  Under  the  Hill." 

XI.  The  Bathers  (on  Dieppe  Beach).      Republished  in 

"  Fifty  Drawings  "  and  «'  Later  Work." 

XII.  The  Moska.      This  subject  was  inspired    by  the 

children's  dance  at  the  Casino,  Dieppe.  Re- 
published in  the  Idler  Magazine,  March  1897, 
and  again  in  <*  Later  Work."  (Property  of 
Mrs  Edmund  Davis.) 

XIII.  The  Abbe.    This  and  the  two  designs  which  follow 

appeared  as  illustrations  to  "  Under  the  Hill," 
a  romantic  novel,  by  Aubrey  Beardsley.  Re- 
published in  "  Later  Work."  All  the  illus- 
trations of  '*  Under  the  Hill  "  reissued  with 
text  in  a  volume  bearing  same  title.  John  Lane, 
1904. 

XIV.  The  Toilet    of  Helen.     Republished  in  "  Fifty 

Drawings  "  and  "  Later  Work." 

IV.  The  Fruit  Bearers.  Republished  in  "  Later  Work." 

XVI.  A  large  Christmas  Card,  in  black-and-white.  Ma- 
donna, with  fur-edged,  richly-flowered  mantle. 
Issued  together  with,  but  not  bound  in,  the  book. 
Republished  in  "  Fifty  Drawings  "  and  "  Later 
Work." 

The  Savoy.     No.  2.     April  1896. 

ivii.  Cover  Design.     Republished  in  "Later  Work." 
104 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


XVIII.  A  Foot-note.  (Fancyportraitof  the  artist.)  Re- 
published, with  omissions,  in  **  Later  Work." 
Also  adapted  in  gold  on  scarlet  for  cloth  cover 
of  ''  Second  Book." 

XIX.  The  Ecstasy  of  Saint  Rose  of  Lima.     Illustration 

of  ''  Under  the  Hill."  Republished  in  «  Fifty 
Drawings  "  and  '*  Later  Work." 

XX.  The  Third  Tableau  of  "  Das  Rheingold."     Re- 

published in  "  Fifty  Drawings  "  and  "  Later 
Work." 
Scene  reproduced  from  "  The  Rape  of  the  Lock." 

The  Savoy.     No.  3.     July  1896. 

XXI.  Cover  Design.     Republished  in  "  Later  Work." 

ixii.  Title-page.  Puck  on  Pegasus.  Repeated  for  the 
title  of  all  the  succeeding  numbers.  Republished 
in  "  Later  Work."  Also,  reduced,  as  design  for 
title-page  of  "  Fifty  Drawings,"  and  in  gold 
on  scarlet  for  the  under  side  of  cloth  cover  of 
same. 

XXIII.  The    Coiffing.      This  and   the    following    design 

accompanied  Aubrey  Beardsley's  "Ballad  of  a 
Barber."  The  Coiffing  was  republished  in  the 
Jd/cr  Magazine,  March  1897,  and  in  '*  Fifty 
Drawings  "  and  "  Later  Work."  (Property 
of  Messrs  Obach  &  Co. ) 

XXIV.  A  Cul-de-Lampe.     Cupid  carrying  a  gibbet.     Re- 

published in  "  Later  Work." 

The  Savoy.     No.  4.     August  1896. 

XXV.  Cover  Design.     Republished  in  "  Later  Work." 

105 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


The  Savoy.     No.  5.     September  1896. 

XXVI.  Cover  Design.    (Signed,  for  a  practical  joke,  Giulio 

Floriani.)  Republished  in  "Fifty  Drawings'' 
and  ''  Later  Work." 

XXVII.  The  Woman  in  White.    A   sketch  in  white   on 

brown  paper.  Republished  in  "  Fifty  Drawings" 
and  "  Later  Work." 

The  Savoy.     No.  6.     October  1896. 

XXVIII.  Cover  Design  ;  the  Fourth  Tableau  of  "Das  Rhein- 
gold."  Republished  in  "  Fifty  Drawings  "  and 
"  Later  Work." 

XXIX.  The  Death  of  Pier  rot.  A  pen-and-ink  sketch.  Re- 
produced in  "  Later  Work."  (Property  of 
Messrs  Obach  &  Co.) 

The  Savoy.     No.  7.     November  1896. 

XXX.  Cover  Design.     Republished  in  "  Later  Work'." 

XXXI.  Ave  atque  Vale  ;  Catullus,  Carmen  C.L     Repub- 

lished in  "  Fifty  Drawings  "  and  "Later  Work." 

XXXII.  Tristan    und    Isolde.        Republished   in    "Later 

Work." 

The  Savoy.    No.  8  (the  last  issued).    December  1896. 

XXXIII.  Cover  Design.      Republished  in  "  Later  Work." 

The  same  adapted,  with  the  addition  of  heavy 
black  bands,  and  is  printed  in  green  and  scarlet, 
for  small  poster  to  advertise  the  completed  work. 

XXXIV.  A  Repetition  of  "  Tristan  und  Isolde."     Repub- 

lished in  "  Later  Work." 
106 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


XXXV.  Don    Juan,    Sganarelle    and    the    Beggar ;     from 

Moli^re's  "  Don  Juan."    Republished  in  "  Later 
Work." 

XXXVI.  Mrs  Margery  Pinchwife,  from  William  Wycherley's 

"  Country    Wife."       Republished    in    "  Later 
Work." 

XXXVII.  Frontispiece  to  "  The  Comedy  of  the  Rheingold." 

Republished  in  **  Later  Work." 
XXXVIII.   Flosshilde,  a   Rhine  Maiden ;  to  illustrate  "  Das 
Rheingold."      Republished  in  "  Later  Work." 
(Property  of  Herbert  J.  Pollit,  Esq.) 
XXXIX.   Erda ;     to    illustrate     "  Das    Rheingold."      Re- 
published in  "  Later  Work." 
XL.   Alberich  ;  to  illustrate  «  Das  Rheingold."      Re- 
published in  "  Later   Work."       (Property   of 
Herbert  J.  Pollit,  Esq.) 
XLi.   Felix  Mendelssohn  Bartholdy.      Republished  in 
«  Later    Work."       (Property   of  Herbert   J. 
Pollit,  Esq.) 
XLii.  Carl  Maria  von  Weber.     Republished  in  "  Later 

Work." 
XLiii.   Count  Valmont,   from   "  Les    Liaisons    Danger- 
euses,"  by  Choderlos  de  Laclos.      Republished 
in  "  Later  Work." 

XLiv.  Et   in   Arcadia   Ego.       Republished   in   "  Later 
Work." 

XLV.   Small  ornament  for  the  cover  of  bound  volumes  of 
"The  Savoy." 

XLvi.  Sketch  of  a  Child  (young  girl),  unfinished,  in 
pencil,  on  the  reverse  of  "  A  Foot-note."    First 
107 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


published  in   "  Early   Work.''       (Property  of 
Frederick  H.  Evans,  Esq.) 

147.  A  Seated  Figure.  Unpublished  design  for  the 
Savoy,  occurring  as  a  grotesque  in  "  Bon  Mots." 
(Property  of  G.  D.  Hobson,  Esq.) 

148.  Verses,  by  Ernest  Dowson  (Leonard  Smithers, 
1896),  cover  design  for.  Reproduced  in  *' Later 
Work."      (Property  of  John  Lane,  Esq.) 

149.  The  Pierrot  of  the  Minute.  A  Dramatic  Phantasy 
in  one  act.  By  Ernest  Dowson.  Leonard  Smithers, 
1897.  (Property  of  John  Lane,  Esq.)  Four  designs 
to  illustrate : — 

I.  Frontispiece. 

II.  Headpiece. 

III.  Initial  letter  P. 

IV.  Cul-de-Lampe. 

Reproduced  in  <*  Second  Book  "  and  **  Later  Work." 
Cover  design  for  the  same. 

150.  Apollo  pursues  Daphne.  (Property  of  Herbert  J. 
Pollit,  Esq.) 

151.  The  Souvenirs  of  Leonard,  Cover  design  for.  Printed 
in  gold  on  purple.  Reproduced  in  "  Later  Work." 
1897. 

152.  The  Life  and  Times  of  Madame  du  Barry,  by 
Douglas.  Leonard  Smithers,  1897.  Cover  design 
for.     Reproduced  in  "Later  Work."      1897. 

153.  Frontispiece  to  A  Book  of  Bargains,  by  Vincent 
O'Sullivan.  Leonard  Smithers,  1897.  Repro- 
duced in  the  Idler ^  March  1897. 

108 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


154.  Cover  Design  for  A  Book  of  Fifty  Drawings,  by 
Aubrey  Beardsley.  Leonard  Smithers,  1897. 
Reproduced  in  gold  on  scarlet  cloth.  Republished  on 
a  reduced  scale,  in  black-and-white,  in  "  Later  Work." 

155.  Silhouette  of  the  Artist.  First  published  as  a  tail- 
piece at  the  end  of  "  Fifty  Drawings."  Also  in  Idler 
Magazine,  March  1897,  and  in  "Later  Work." 

156.  Book-Plate  of  the  Artist.  First  published  in  "Fifty- 
Drawings,"  1897,  also  in  "  Later  Work." 

157.  Ali  Baba.     Cover  Design  for  The  Forty  Thieves. 

I.  First    published    in    "  Second    Book,"    again    in 

"Later  Work,"    1901.     (Property  of  Messrs 
Robson  &  Co.) 

II.  Ali    Baba   in   the  Wood.      First   published   in 

"Fifty    Drawings,"    1897.       Also    in    Idler^ 
May  1898,  and  again  in  "  Later  Work." 

158.  Atalanta  in  Calydon.  First  published  in  "Fifty 
Drawings,"  1897  ;  also  in  the  Idler  Magazine,  March 
1897,  and  again  in  "Later  Work."  (This  drawing 
was  exhibited  at  the  Carfax  Exhibition,  October  1904, 
under  the  title  of  "Diana,"  77.) 

159.  Messalina  returning  from  the  Bath.  Pen-and-ink 
and  water  colours.  First  published  in  "  Second  Book," 
again  in  "  Later  Work."  This  drawing,  together 
with  the  other  one  of  Messalina,  drawn  in  1895  (^^^ 
supra),  two  of  Bathyllus,  and  one  representing  Juvenal 
scourging  a  woman  (this  last,  slightly  altered,  repro- 
duced in  "Later  Work"),  belongs  to  a  series  of 
illustrations  to  the  Sixth  Satire  of  Juvenal.  Leonard 
Smithers,  privately  printed,  1897. 

109 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


i6o.  The  Houses  of  Sin,  by  Vincent  O'Sullivan.  Leonard 
Smithers,  1897.  Cover  design  for.  Reproduced  in 
"  Second  Book,"  again  in  "  Later  Work." 

161.  La  Dame  aux  Camelias.  Sketch  in  water  colour  to 
right.  On  the  fly-leaf  of  a  copy  of  the  book  given  to 
the  artist  by  M.  Alexandre  Dumas,  fils.  First  published 
in  "Second  Book,"  again  in  "Later  Work."      1897. 

162.  Book-Plate  for  Miss  Olive  Custance  (Lady  Alfred 
Douglas).  Reproduced  in  photogravure  in  "  Early 
Work." 

163.  Arbuscula.  Drawing  in  line  and  wash,  for  the  edition 
de  luxe  of  Vuillier's  "  History  of  Dancing."  William 
Heinemann,  1897.  Reproduced  in  photogravure; 
also  an  early  impression  of  the  same  printed  in  a  green 
tint.      (Property  of  John  Lane,  Esq.) 

164.  Mademoiselle  de  Maupin,  by  Theophile  Gautier. 
Leonard  Smithers,  1898.     Designs  to  illustrate: — 

I.  Mademoiselle  de  Maupin,  frontispiece,  water 
colour.  Reproduced  in  facsimile  by  Messrs 
Boussod,  Valadon  &  Co.,  for  limited  edition, 
and,  like  the  rest,  in  photogravure  for  ordinary 
edition.  Reproduced  as  frontispiece  to  "  Later 
Work." 
II.  D' Albert  (small  design). 

III.  D' Albert  in  search  of  Ideals.     (Property  of  Mrs 

George  Bealby  Wright.) 

IV.  The  Lady  at  the  Dressing  Table.      (Property  of 

Walter  Pollett,  Esq.) 
V.   The  Lady  with  the  Rose. 

VI.  The   Lady  with  the   Monkey.     All  the  above 
reproduced  in  photogravure  in  "  Later  Work." 
1 10 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


165.  Ben    Jon  son    his    Volpone  :     or    the    Foxe.       410. 
Leonard  Smithers,  1898. 

I.  Design  in  gold  on  blue  for  the  cloth  cover.  Same 
in  black-and-white  for  opening  page.  Frontis- 
piece, design  in  pen-and-ink. 
II.  Vignette  to  the  Argument.  Initial  letter  V,  with 
column  and  tasselled  attachments  to  the  capital. 
This  and  the  remaining  designs  were  executed 
in  pen  and  crayon. 

III.  Vignette  to   Act  I.       Initial    letter    V,  with   an 

elephant,  having  a  basket  of  fruits  on  his  back. 
(Property  of  Herbert  J.  Pollit,  Esq.) 

IV.  Vignette  to  Act  II.       Initial    letter    S,  with    a 

monster  bird,  having  a  pearl  chain  attached  to 
its    head.       (Property   of    Herbert    J.    Pollit, 
Esq.) 
V.   Vignette  to  Act  III.    Initial  letter  M,  with  seated 
Venus  and  Cupid  under  a  canopy,  between  two 
fantastic  gynascomorphic  columns.       (Property 
of  Herbert  J.  Pollit,  Esq.) 
Vignette  to  Act  IV.      (The  same  as  the  design 
for  Act  II.  repeated.) 
VI.   Vignette  to  Act  V.    Initial  letter  V,  with  a  horned 
terminal   figure  of  a  man  or  satyr.      (Property 
of  Herbert  J.  Pollit,  Esq.) 
All  these  Volpone  designs  were  reproduced  in  "  Later 
Work."       Drawn    at    the    close    of    1897  and    early 
part  of   1898,  they  constitute   the  latest  designs  pro- 
duced by  Aubrey  Beardsley  before  his  death. 

In  his  published  List,  Mr  A.  E.  Gallatin  mentions 
several  sketches  and  other  drawings  in  private  letters 
which,  for  lack  of  detailed  information,  I  have  not  in- 
III 


Aubrey  Beardsley 


eluded  in  my  List.  Many  of  Aubrey  Beardsley's 
drawings  are  constantly  changing  hands.  In  each  case 
the  name  of  the  last  known  owner  is  given.  Where  no 
owner's  name  appears,  no  information  has  been  obtain- 
able. Some  of  the  finest  drawings,  I  am  informed  upon 
good  authority,  have  now  passed  into  the  collection  of 
Herr  Wardofer  of  Vienna. 

I  desire  to  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to  the 
artist's  mother  and  sister,  to  Mr  G.  R.  Halkett,  Mr 
H.  C.  Marillier,  Mr  H.  A.  Payne,  and  Mr  Pickford 
Waller.  To  Mr  Frederick  H.  Evans,  who  kindly 
placed  his  collection  at  my  disposal,  I  am  under  special 
obligations. 

Aymer  Vallance 


112 


A  LIST  OF  VOLUMES 
CONTAINING  ILLUSTRATIONS 
BY    AUBREY     BEARDSLEY 


H 


•3f    # 


THE  EARLY  WORK  OF 
AUBREY    BEARDSLEY 

WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY  H.  C.  MARILLIER 

Price  42s.  net  (originally  published  at  31s  6d.  net) 

Also  an  Edition  printed  upon  Japanese  Vellum^ 
limited  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  copies  for 
England  and  America,  Price  84s,  net  {^originally 
published  at  63s,   net^.       Only  six  copies   of  this 


THIS  handsome  volume  was  published  soon  after  Beardsley's 
death.  It  contains  most  of  his  work  up  to  the  time  of  his 
ceasing  to  be  associated  with  the  art  editorship  of  "The 
Yellow  Book,"  and  includes  the  remarkable  designs  illustrating 
"  Salome,"  long  since  out  of  print.  These  are  considered  by  the 
critics  as  among  the  best  and  most  individual  work  he  did. 
There  are  in  all  upwards  of  180  reproductions,  in  addition  to 
two  characteristic  photographs  of  Beardsley,  taken  by  Mr 
Frederick  H.  Evans. 


THE  LATER  WORK  OF 
AUBREY    BEARDSLEY 

Demy  4to.     Price  42s.  net 

^*^  Also  a  limited  Edition  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
copies  for  England  and  America^  printed  on  Japanese 
Vellum,    105s,  net  [originally  published  at  84s,  net) . 

THIS   collection  was   not   published   until  nearly  three  years 
after  Beardsley's   death,  and  contains  most  of  the   designs 
not  included  in   '<The  Early  Work."      The  two  volumes 
thus  form  an  almost  complete  record  of  his  artistic  production. 
In   all  there  are  upwards  of  170  reproductions,   including  3  in 
colour  and  1 1  in  photogravure. 

In  the  Japanese  Vellum  edition  several  illustrations  are  repro- 
duced in  photogravure,  instead  of  half-tone  as  in  the  ordinary 
edition,  whilst  the  frontispiece  is  hand- coloured. 


A  SECOND  BOOK  OF 
FIFTY     DRAWINGS 

BY  AUBREY  BEARDSLEY 

Crown  4to.     Price  los.  6d.  net 

This  Edition  is  limited  to  one  thousand  copies  of  the 
ordinary  issue,  andjifty  copies  printed  on  Japanese 
Vellum  (exhausted  on  publication) . 

THE  First  Book  of  Fifty  Drawings,  which  preceded  this 
volume,  is  now  selling  at  a  greatly  enhanced  price.  The 
present  volume  is  remarkable  as  containing  several  repro- 
ductions from  very  early  sketches,  as  well  as  many  executed  in 
the  artist's  most  individual  style,  among  which  is  a  photogravure 
of  "Mademoiselle  de  Maupin,"  one  design  in  colour,  and  three 
photogravures  which  show  how  strong,  at  one  time,  was  the 
Burne-Jones  influence  upon  Beardsley. 

THE  RAPE  OF  THE  LOCK 

BY  ALEXANDER  POPE 

With  Nine  Full-page  Illustrations  by  Aubrey  Beardsley 

Crown  4to.     Price  los.  6d.  net 

■^^  Very  feiv  copies  remain  of  this  volume,  ivhich  luas 
originally  published  at  7s.  6d,  net.  The  Japanese 
Vellum  Edition  is  exhausted, 

PERHAPS,  with  the  exception  of  the  series  of  drawings  illus- 
trating '<  Salome,"  no  designs  are  more  characteristic,  more 
strikingly  original,  than  those  contained  in  <'The  Rape  of 
the  Lock."  The  edition  is  now  rapidly  nearing  exhaustion, 
and  the  publisher  has  decided  not  to  re-issue  it  in  the  original 
form.  This  work  with  the  original  illustrations  is  included  as 
Vol.  IX.  of  "The  Flowers  of  Parnassus."  Demy  i6mo  (5I  x  4| 
inches).  Bound  in  Cloth,  Price  is.  net.  Bound  in  Leather, 
Price  IS.  6d.  net. 


A  PORTFOLIO  OF  AUBREY 
BEARDSLEY'S  DRAWINGS 
ILLUSTRATING  OSCAR  WILDE'S 

SALOME 

Folio.      13I  X  10^  inches      Price  12s.  6d.  net 

'pHE  designs  of  the  late  Aubrey  Beardsley  are  here  reproduced 
I  for  the  first  time,  the  actual  size  of  the  originals,  viz. 
9x6^  inches,  and  are  printed  upon  Japanese  vellum. 
Included  among  them  is  a  drawing  originally  done  as  an  illustra- 
tion to  *'  Salome,"  but  not  included  in  the  volume  when  published. 
This  masterly  series  of  designs  is  without  doubt  Beardsley's  chf 
(fawore,  and  the  care  which  has  been  taken  in  the  production  of 
the  blocks  makes  prints  equal  in  effect  to  the  originals  themselves. 

SALOME 

A  TRAGEDY  IN  ONE  ACT  TRANS- 
LATED   FROM    THE    FRENCH    OF 

OSCAR    WILDE 

WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY 
ROBERT  ROSS,  WITH  SEVENTEEN 
FULL-PAGE    ILLUSTRATIONS  BY 

AUBREY     BEARDSLEY 

Fcap.  4to.      8  X  6|  inches.      Price  ics.  6d.  net 

ALSO  AN  UNILLUSTRATED  EDITION 

WITH  A  COVER  DESIGN  BY 

AUBREY  BEARDSLEY 

Royal  i6mo.     6J  x  5  inches.     Price  2s.  6d.  net 


THE     YELLOW    BOOK 

AN  ILLUSTRATED  QUARTERLY 

Literary  Editor— HENRY  HARLAND 
Art  Editor  (Vols.  1.  to  IV. >— AUBREY  BEARDSLEY 


Fcap.  4to.     Price 

5s.  net. 

13  Volumes. 

I. 

April  1894. 

272  pp. 

15  Illustrations, 

n. 

July  1894. 

364  pp. 

23  Illustrations. 

in. 

October  1894. 

280  pp. 

15  Illustrations. 

IV. 

January  1895. 

285  pp. 

16  Illustrations. 

V. 

April  1895. 

3»7PP- 

14  Illustrations. 

VI. 

July  1895. 

335  PP- 

16  Illustrations. 

VII. 

October  1895. 

320  pp. 

20  Illustrations. 

VIII. 

January  1896. 

406  pp. 

26  Illustrations. 

IX. 

April  1896. 

256  pp. 

17  Illustrations. 

X. 

July  1896. 

340  pp. 

13  Illustrations. 

XI. 

October  1896. 

342  pp. 

13  Illustrations. 

XII. 

January  1897. 

350  PP- 

14  Illustrations. 

XIII. 

April  1897. 

316  pp. 

18  Illustrations. 

IT  was  in  his  capacity  as  art-editor  of  "The  Yellow  Book  "  that 
Beardsley  made  his  first  claim  to  public  notice.     The  earlier 
volumes  contain  twenty  designs  from  his  pencil,  in  addition 
to  a   number  of  others  from  the  best  known  black  and  white 
artists  of  the  day. 


LIST  OF 

CONTRIBUTORS   TO 

THE    YELLOW    BOOK            | 

LITERARY 

Baring,  Hon.  Maurice 

France,  Anatole 

Beerbohm,  Max 

Frederic,  Harold 

Benson,  A.  C. 

FuUerton,  Merton 

Buchan,  John 

Gale,  Norman 

Corvo,  Frederick  Baron 

Garnett,  Richard 

Crackanthorpe,  Hubert 

Gilchrist,  R.  Murray 

Crosse,  Victoria 

Gissing,  George 

Custance,  Olive 

Gosse,  Edmund 

D'Arcy,  Ella 

Grahame,  Mrs  Cunningham 

Davidson,  John 

Grahame,  Kenneth 

Dobson,  Austin 

Greenwood,  Frederick 

Dowie,  Menie  Muriel 

Hamerton,  Philip  Gilbert 

Dowson,  Ernest 

Hapgood,  Norman 

Egerton,  George 

Harland,  Henry 

LIST  OF  CONTRIBUTORS  TO  THE  YELLOW  BOOK 

Continued 


Hobbes,  John  Oliver 

Hopper,  Nora 

James,  Henry 

Johnson,  Lionel 

Lee,  Vernon 

Le  Gallienne,  Richard 

Leverson,  Mrs  Ernest 

McChesney,  Dora  Greenwell 

Miall,  A.  Bernard 

Money- Coutts,  F.  B. 

Moore,  George 

Nesbit,  E. 

Nevinson,  Henry  W. 

Phillips,  Stephen 

Prestage,  Edgar 

Prevost,  Francis 

Radford,  Dolly 

Raleigh,  Walter 

Risley,  R.  V. 


Roberts,  Charles  G.  D. 

Robertson,  John  M. 

Russell,  T.  Baron 

Salt,  H.  S. 

Sharp,  Evelyn 

Street,  G.  S. 

Strettell,  Alma 

Swettenham,  Sir  Frank 

Symons,  Arthur 

Tadema,  Laurence  Alma 

Tomson,  Graham  R. 

Traill,  H.  D. 

Watson,  Rosamund  Marriott 

Watson,  William 

Watt,  Francis 

Watts.  Theodore 

Wells,  H    G. 

Yeats,  W.  B. 


ARTISTIC 


Ball,  Wilfrid 
Beardsley,  Aubrey 
Beerbohm,  Max 
Bell,  R.  Anning 
Bramley,  Frank,  A.R.A. 
Cameron,  D.  Y. 
Cameron,  Katharine 
Christie,  J.  E. 
Conder,  Charles 
Cotman,  F.  G. 
Crane,  Waiter 
Crawhall,  J. 
Dearmer,  Mabel 
Draper,  H.  .1. 
Eden,  Sir  William,  Bart. 
Forbes,  Elizabeth  Stanhope 
Forbes,  Stanhope;  A.R.A. 
Furse,  Charles  W. 
Gaskin,  A.  J. 
Gaskin,  Mrs  A.  J. 
Gotch,  Caroline 
Gotch,  T.  C. 
Guthrie,  James 
Hammond,  Gertrude  D. 
Hartrick,  H.  S. 
Henry,  George 
Hornel,  E. 
Housman,  Laurence 


Howard,  Francis 
Hyde,  William 
Lavery,  John 
Leighton,  Lord 
Macdonald,  Frances 
Macdonald,  Margaret 
MacDougall,  W.  Brown 
McNair,  J.  Herbert 
Nettleship,  J.  T. 
New,  E.  H. 
Pennell,  Joseph 
Pimlott,  E.  Philip 
Prideaux-Brune,  Gertrude 
Reed,  Ethel 
Robinson,  Charles 
Roche,  A. 

Rotherstein,  William 
Russell,  W.  W. 
Sickert,  Walter 
Steer,  P.  Wilson 
Stevenson,  R.  M. 
Strang,  William 
Sullivan,  E.  J. 
Thornton,  Alfred 
Vallance,  Aymer 
Walton,  E.  A. 
Wilson,  Patten 


UNDER    THE    HILL 

AND  OTHER  ESSAYS  IN  PROSE  ^  VERSE 

INCLUDING    TABLE    TALK 

BY  AUBREY  BEARDSLEY 

With  numerous  Illustrations  by  the  Author 

Crown  4to.     Price  7s.  6d.  net 

^■^^  ^Iso  an  edition  printed  upon  Japanese  Vellum  ^ 
limited  to  fifty  copies  for  England  and  America. 
Price  21  s,  net. 

THE  increasing  popularity  of  Aubrey  Beardsley's  volumes  of 
drawings  has  prompted  his  publisher  to  re-issue  his  literary 
remains,  if  he  may  so  style  them.  In  this  volume  are 
gathered  together  his  literary  contributions  in  verse  and  prose  to 
"  The  Savoy,"  his  Table  Talk,  and  two  letters  written  to  the  Press 
in  reply  to  criticism,  which  are  characteristic  of  the  humorous 
courtesy  with  which  Beardsley  received  adverse  or  scornful  criti- 
cism, contenting  himself  with  the  weapons  of  courtesy  and  humour. 
There  are  also  included  in  this  volume  several  hitherto  unpublished 
designs  which  are  of  great  interest  to  all  lovers  of  his  work. 

PLAYS 

AN  HISTORICAL  PASTORAL;  A  ROMANTIC 

FARCE;     BRUCE,    A    CHRONICLE     PLAY; 

SMITH,  A  TRAGIC  FARCE ;  SCARAMOUCH 

IN  NAXOS,  A  PANTOMIME 

BY  JOHN  DAVIDSON 

With  Frontispiece  and  Cover  Design  by  Aubrey  Beardsley 

Small  4to.     Price  7s.  6d.  net 

^  ^  The  Edition  is  limited  to  five  hundred  copies. 


THE   PIERROT   OF   THE 
MINUTE 

A  DRAMATIC  PHANTASY  IN  ONE  ACT 
BY  ERNEST  DOWSON 

With  Illustrations  and  a  Cover  Design  by  Aubrey  Beardsley 

Crown  4to.     Price  los.  6d.  net 

(Originally  published  at  ys.  6d.  net) 

^■^^  This  edition  is  limited  to  three  hundred  copies  of 
the  ordinary  issue  {of  *which  very  fe^w  remain^  and 
thirty  copies  on  Japanese  Vellum  {now  out  of  print), 

A    PECULIAR   and   pathetic   interest   attaches   itself  to    this 
volume  on  account   of  the   sad,  even  tragic,  end  of  Ernest 
Dowson.     The  obituary  notices  following  his  death  were  to 
many  the  first  intimation  of  his  existence,  but  to  those  who  knew 
him  there  was  little  room  for  doubt  that  he  possessed  a  genius 
which  was  as  remarkable  as  it  was  ill-starred. 

BEN    lONSON,    HIS   VOL- 
PONE:     OR    THE     FOX 

A  NEW  EDITION,  WITH  A  CRITICAL  ESSAY 
ON  THE  AUTHOR  BY  VINCENT  O'SULLIVAN 

And  Illustrations  by  Aubrey  Beardsley 

Demy  4to.     Price  los.  6d.  net 

(Originally  published  at  ys.  6d.  net) 

^*^  The  Ordinary  Edition  is  limited  to  one  thousand 
copies.  The  Japanese  Vellum  Edition,  limited  to 
one  hundred  copies,  is  nonv  out  of  print, 

MR  ROBERT  ROSS  in  his  eulogy  considers  1896  as  Beardsley's 
annus  mirabilis^  and  remarks  that  it  would  be  impossible  to 
believe  he  could  have  surpassed  the  work  of  that  year  but 
for  the  illustrations  to  <' Volpone."     They  characterise  in  a  very 
marked  manner  the  singular  genius,  both  in  creative  faculty  and 
draughtsmanship,  of  the  artist.